Seams
by MisoSoop
Summary: Shuichi is determined to forget the past in favor for a human life. But the past won't leave him alone. He has some unfinished business to attend to, and she's not going anywhere until it's taken care of. Tryst Sequel COMPLETED Some Heavy Editing
1. Chapter 1

_**This is new, and I never thought it would be needed: Now, this wasn't bothering me before, but lately I've had an influx of people putting this story and it's prequel on Story Alert, and after about fifty emails pertaining to this, I'm getting annoyed; Putting this story on Story Alert is pointless because it's COMPLETED. THERE WILL BE NO MORE CHAPTERS, YOU WILL NEVER GET AN ALERT FOR THIS STORY. **_

_**I can understand an Author Alert, or a Favorite, but people putting a finished story on Story Alert irritates me, and makes me think the least of my readers, which I don't want to do. SO PLEASE. PAY ATTENTION. DON'T PUT FINISHED STORIES ON YOUR ALERTS, PLEASE. It's just pointless spam in my e-mailbox.  
**_

**Things to Note before we start!**

**1. Shuichi is how Kurama will be addressed through out this story, unless another character calls him Kurama. This story is in Third Person.   
**

**2. This is obviously sometime near the end of the series or after it; Shuichi's family has new members! It's canon! His step-father, Hatanaka, and his younger step brother Shuichi. He was dubbed as Kokoda, but I think it's nicer to give him his Japanese name.**

**3. Lyrics are from the song "All of These Things That I've Done" by The Killers. **

* * *

_**Seams**_

_One_

"_I wanna stand up/ I wanna let go…"_

Shuichi Minamino could say he had a fondness for plants. As well he should, being who he was. But his mother didn't know that, or his step-father, or step-brother. They weren't sure where the botanist in him came from. Especially since neither his mother nor father had been very good at growing things.

Still, the teen feigned the same confusion, often shrugging and saying: "It just showed up."

But the fox demon that he was would mull over the secret, and toss it around until he became bored with it and thought of other things. Namely if there was anything new to learn.

Since he couldn't fight or steal, knowledge was his new source of entertainment. It had been since he was young, since he had started playing the role of a perfect son. When he had decided that he wouldn't be leaving Shiori alone.

And now the red head was leisurely reviving his mother's garden. At least she was trying. She just didn't know all of the tricks of the trade. Or what each plant preferred. Luckily, he did, and Shiori's garden could continue being her second pride. He was her first.

He carefully reached out and let his fingers stroke the robust vines of a wisteria that he had long ago tamed into the shape of a squat tree. While he preferred roses as a weapon, he had a soft spot for wisteria.

It was probably the potential the plant had to be poisonous that interested him. But the smell of grapes helped.

He felt his energy reach out and meet with the wisteria's own as it rushed to greet him. The feeling was enough to make him close his eyes. Old habits were hard to break.

After returning back to his home, he had made a decision to break off any connections to his demon history. It was a sign of clinging to the past, of his dependency on it. The endeavor was proving to be harder than he had thought.

Optimism could disappoint sometimes.

He finally withdrew from the plant, pleased to see it vibrant and lively again, and offered the garden a final sweeping glance before heading back inside. He was planning on moving out soon, but his step-father had helpfully reminded him that he didn't have the money to support himself.

Shuichi still wasn't sure why he chose a job with his step-father over college. Maybe he just found the prospect of more school to be tedious. But then, the college probably wouldn't have insisted he chop off his hair.

He hadn't relented yet, but he knew he'd have to at some point. There wasn't a need for it now that he wouldn't be fighting anything; if you aren't going to fight, you don't need a place to hide your weapons.

But he had to get them all out first. Something he seemed to be putting off.

"Shuu-ani! Can you take me down town? Mom said I can't go alone."

The cry of his step-brother, Shuichi, brought him out of his musings. He smiled at the nickname, and nodded his head.

"Of course Shuichi, I have time. Maybe I'll even get my hair cut," he added, lowering his voice slightly, as if to keep it a secret. His step-brother laughed.

"That'll be something to see."

He agreed that it would be, and was then urged to hurry out the door. Shuichi was starting to suspect that his step-brother had a date to keep. Which wouldn't surprise him much, a girl had already called the house and caused a bit of confusion looking for him.

Down town was crowded, but so was most of the city. After determining that younger Shuichi would be spending time with his friends and that they would meet at five, older Shuichi headed off to walk around and see if anything caught his interest.

Living a normal life had the tendency to be rather dull, compared to fighting demons.

But, after an hour or so, he decided that he would cut his hair while he had the resolve and began the process of surreptitiously removing the seeds in his hair and moving them to his pockets.

It was during this process that something collided with his chest, and he nearly dropped the seeds he had gathered, swiftly apologizing as he stowed them away. He moved to continue, but was stopped.

"Hey!"

A little confused, Shuichi looked at the person that had grabbed at his sleeve and paled slightly. A girl was scowling at him, gray eyes set on him in a hard gaze. He realized, with some amusement, that there had been a time where he would have had to bend down to look her in the eye.

After a few more moments, she spoke, her voice holding hints of irritation while keeping its feminine tone. Rika had never been able to pull off threatening.

"You've been here this whole time haven't you? The collar never came off, you bastard, and I expect you to remove it right now!"

The red head couldn't help but let out a sigh.

So much for leaving the past in the past.

* * *

_Yes, I'm suggesting that Kurama get a hair cut. Blasphemy! Some of you may cry. Well, I also wanted to write him with black hair and purple eyes, but I didn't. So let me cut his hair if I want to. Nyah.  
_


	2. Chapter 2

**_A glimmer of plot._ **_It's a beautiful thing, as a teacher of mine would say. I got wicked awesome fan art today, sooo nice. And I drew a picture, but the person that gave me the fan art gets to enjoy it first. You can all wait until this story gets more underway. Nyah._

**Edit: I forgot the fuckin' lyrics. They'll be up here soon.**

**Lyrics are from "The Answer" by Blue October.**

* * *

_**Seams**_

_Two_

_"Now there's a part of me seeking and desperately needing to open up..."_

Shuichi was very aware of her hands near his chest, and felt his old self stirring up. But it quickly ducked back down when he noticed the amount of glances and stares they were getting from the people on the street.

Sighing, he gripped her wrists, releasing her hold on his shirt and led her down the street. He could hear her muttering insults, complaining about him under her breath. But she followed along obediently until they finally reached a park set near the outside of the hustle of people.

"You could have been a little more discreet about your appearance," Shuichi murmured, turning to look at her. A quick glance confirmed the presence of familiar markings, and he could barely make out the small horns peeking out from brown hair, which had definitely gotten longer.

He supposed that others wouldn't be able to see the horns at all. But he was drawn out of his musings by her indignant reply.

"You kept walking away. And the people wouldn't move."

"Well, you're still rather small Rika," Shuichi said calmly. She was eye to neck with him now, but he remembered well enough that if he was Youko, she would only reach his chest.

"And you've shrunk as well," she said snidely. "And you look like a girl."

"I was going to get my hair cut before you appeared," he replied easily. He had been mistaken for a girl often enough that he was rather unaffected by it. He was starting to wonder if his body was supposed to be that of a female before he had taken over.

"Your hair is hardly my concern," Rika said flatly, crossing her arms. "You'll get this collar off of me first."

"Well, I'd like to talk with you first, it's been a long time," he said, smiling. She rolled her eyes.

"Collar."

"You'll leave if I take it off now."

"Maybe, but it doesn't matter. I didn't come here to talk."

"Oh, Chuuri, just a small chat. I've spoken with nearly everyone from my past; I'd like to do the same with you."

She scowled at the nickname, one that Shuichi had used merely on impulse. She gave him a look that clearly conveyed the thought 'you're insufferable'. But his pleasant smile never faltered, and he saw the first signs of her relenting.

Rolling her eyes as her shoulders slumped slightly, she sighed. "You do remember the last time you asked for a chat?"

"Of course, but I'm not planning anything now. I'm a human," he said simply. At least, he was trying to be. But it was his only convincing argument. She uncrossed her arms, the last sign of her resistance gone.

"Yes, well… it can't take long," she said with a frown, almost sounding like a mother. But Shuichi nodded and guided her to sit down under a tree, away from the playground and the children there.

Rika dropped down reluctantly, heaving another sigh as he sat down in front of her. He couldn't really tell what was going through her mind, but the exasperation on her face was obvious. Maybe she had been expecting this to happen.

"I'm curious," Shuichi began. "About how you managed to find me. It's been a very long time since I saw you last."

"Yomi," she said simply, shrugging a bit as she looked up at the tree branches and leaves. Shuichi narrowed his eyes slightly as she shifted uncomfortably, her face flushing slightly. Had something happened between them? He couldn't help the twinge of jealousy. Even as a human, he thought he could pick up the starting scent of arousal.

"Yomi? And what does he have to do with this?" he asked curiously, keeping the annoyance out of his voice. She raised her eyebrows.

"He told me where to find you, and helped me get here. That was yesterday, I believe," she said, no longer looking uncomfortable as she had before. "He's not as bad as he used to be," she added quietly, frowning.

"You'd be surprised," Shuichi murmured with a frown. Rika only shrugged, looking at him.

"Maybe. I'm surprised to see you like this," she said, waving a hand at him. "It's definitely a change."

"A feminine change," he teased lightly, discreetly bringing up her statement from before. She nodded in agreement, pursing her lips slightly as she studied him. Tilting his head, Shuichi studied her in return before he finally sighed.

"When did you decide to see Yomi?" he asked, frowning slightly. She looked a little surprised by the question.

"I don't know. I only spoke to him yesterday. I'm not sure why I went to him," she said, looking up again. "He was just the only one around, I guess. He's a good listener."

Shuichi couldn't help but laugh and a wry smile crossed Rika's lips. "I hope he is," he said, moving to get more comfortable. He checked his watch. Two more hours to go. His only thought was the regret that he hadn't moved out yet.

"Kurama-"

"Shuichi."

"What?" Rika scowled at him, though she looked a bit confused. And maybe annoyed with being corrected.

"It's Shuichi now," he said, smiling. "Shuichi Minamino."

"Shuichi," she muttered, her scowl turning to a small frown. "Well can _Shuichi _take this collar off?" she asked, sneering slightly. Shuichi bit his lip. He supposed he couldn't skirt around the subject anymore.

He sighed. "Yes, Shuichi can," he muttered. Rika frowned, giving him an impatient look as he slipped into musing. He was reluctant to let her get away from him again. He wasn't entirely sure if it was for the mostly dominant carnal desires he had snatched her away for before he had died.

Actually, he was quite certain that wasn't it at all. It seemed his motives had switched places; he wanted her because he was lonely, for lack of a better word. He took comfort in his friends and family of course, but... it wasn't until recently that he realized the loneliness stemmed from a desire for a relationship.

He'd been denying himself that for some time.

Rika seemed like a good candidate for it. He already knew her, and she was fully aware of what he was… and he still wanted her to some extent. He wouldn't deny that.

"Shuichi."

The harsh snap drew him from his thoughts and he offered the annoyed female in front of him a smile.

"Yes?"

"Don't pull that crap with me, get this collar off," she said with a scowl. Shuichi managed to give her an amused look, before a thought crossed his mind. He sighed, frowning slightly.

"You'll leave if I do."

"We established this awhile ago."

"Maybe I don't want you to leave."

"Listen fox-"

"Relax Rika. I'll take it off. But… I have a small offer. Just a small one, not like before," he added, catching the look of distrust almost immediately. "Stay for awhile. I want to try and finally win you over Rika, I really do, all I need is… a month at least."

Rika looked a bit startled by his determined and excited tone. "Have you been drinking?" she asked seriously, fixing him with a stare. He laughed, shaking his head.

"No. Please Rika, one month. If I haven't won you over after a month, I'll take the collar off and you can go. Back to Yomi even," he said, waving a hand. "But I want one more chance."

She let out a sigh, looking up again before looking at him with a frown. "Why are you doing this?" she muttered.

"It's not the same as last time."

There was a long moment of silence, one that Shuichi felt dragged on for an eternity. An eternity filled with his own bewilderment at the offer. He sounded so desperate. But something about Rika wasn't allowing him to give her up.

It was still a very odd relationship, even after nearly eighteen years.

"You're a child in this body," she murmured sadly. He gave her an indignant look. She sighed, shaking her head. "I can't believe this… all right, fine. But you'd better have a place for me to stay," she said with a scowl.

Shuichi tried not to grin. He had no idea where she would stay, but she didn't have to know that. "Of course. Thank you Rika."

"Yeah, whatever," she sighed, propping her chin up with a hand as she watched the children play.

* * *

_I'm sensing fluff in the future. Hopefully fluff with plot. I think Shuichi's plan would be totally uncharacteristic if it weren't for these facts:_

_**1. I don't believe that Shuichi and Youko Kurama are two separate beings in a body. It's just Youko in a human form. He said so in the Tournament, so don't shove your OOC Mind!Youko at me. **_

_**2. Given this fact, Shuichi is perfectly aware of everything that happened with Rika all those years ago, and still being Youko, has every reason to act like this when given the events of Tryst. He's just not as focused on the sex aspect. Which is totally not OOC, by the way.**_

**P.S. I wasn't the only one that got the YomixRika vibes. One other person agreed. So I put a little more in there for my own amusement. And because I found a smokin' hot picture... ahem.**


	3. Chapter 3

_**This story is hard to write. **Seriously, writing this out and keeping Shuichi in character is almost impossible, haha. But I'm trying really hard. Please let me know if things seem off, I want to make sure I keep him in line when I'm only three chapters in. _

_More discussion time! I received a review that I couldn't reply too, but I figured I'd put it up here so I could throw out some facts for everyone: **Yes seriously what's with people thinking Shuichi and Youko are separate beings? Is it really so hard to believe that Youko just killed Shiori's baby's soul (or didn't let it born at all) or what?**_

_That's just it. It's not hard to believe that Youko's the only one in the body. And it's not that he destroyed the soul that was there. **It's a sort of superstition/belief that unborn children haven't acquired a soul yet. **Youko took over the vacant vessel and waited. That's it. That simple. So take that and add it to his little speech during his first appearance during the DT Saga, and try and tell me that they're two separate beings._

**The song lyrics are from "Way Too Much" by Chromeo**

* * *

_**Seams**_

_Three_

"_I never thought that I'd fall victim to a woman/ She took my pride, she took my soul in my confusion…"_

Shuichi waited until it was almost four before he told Rika that he had to meet his stepbrother at five. He could see the questions already forming, but she only nodded in acknowledgment. It was a little hard to guess what she may have been feeling about the situation.

Finally, she sighed and fixed him once again with a hard gaze. "I can't believe I agreed to this," she muttered. "I could be back in the Makai by now."

"Back with Yomi?" Shuichi had apparently turned off his filter, unable to stop the question that made her tense and narrow her eyes. He tried not to look like he had made a mistake, and met her frown with one of his own.

"Why in the hell would you even ask that?" she questioned. "I was there for one day to talk to him. I didn't jump his bones."

Shuichi snorted lightly as he tried to stifle a laugh. A crude, human way to put it, but it got the point across.

"I never said you did," he said easily. "I was only asking if that's where you would go. You acted strangely when you mentioned him before. I assumed that there was something between you two."

She simply fixed him with a scowl, her lips forming a thin line. Apparently she was in no mood to take part in this discussion any longer, so Shuichi let the subject drop. Nervously, he checked his watch again. Only five minutes had passed. He still had fifty-eight minutes until he had to meet younger Shuichi.

"I still have time to get my haircut," he said finally. "I'll give you directions to my home. There's a tree in front of my window-"

"Don't."

He blinked, pausing in his instructions to look at her curiously. She was eyeing him carefully.

"Don't cut it," she clarified. "I'm used to it being long," she added in a mutter.

"You said I looked like a girl a while ago," he said, looking amused. She sighed, rolling her eyes.

"It's your eyes. Your eyes are kind of large, you know? And you have long eyelashes," she muttered, shifting a bit as she tilted her head. "You'd look like a girl either way."

Shuichi laughed and Rika relaxed slightly. "I don't need my hair this long anymore," he said finally. "I don't live as a demon."

"No need to hide seeds in your hair then," she said, looking at him. "Pull your hair back then."

He regarded her with an amused look as he complied, gathering up his hair and pulling it back, to at least create the illusion of shorter hair. He watched her tense, staring at him, before letting out a long breath.

"Still a girl," she muttered, sounding a bit stubborn.

"I've been told that I wouldn't look like a girl if I cut my hair," he replied easily. They eyed each other for a moment. "I could donate it," he added. That earned him a disgusted and confused look.

"Donate it for what?" she demanded, her lip curling slightly.

"Lately, humans have been getting sick. The medicine for it causes them to lose their hair. People decided to donate their hair to different foundations, where they can make wigs for them out of real hair," he explained.

"That's… absolutely bizarre," she breathed, still looking disgusted by the whole thing.

"It's popular in America, across the ocean," he said with a shrug.

"Well don't do that. It's too weird," she said firmly.

"Well how will you know if I did or not?" he challenged. He smiled as Rika narrowed her eyes. "Now, there's a tree in front of my bedroom window. I'll let you in through there, as long as you come around seven."

"Yeah…" she was still eyeing him, as if trying to imagine what he would look like without all of the hair. "How do I get there then?"

It took a few minutes to find a mother that was carrying a pad of paper and a pen, probably for a shopping list, and he carefully wrote down the directions. The woman was staring at both of them, probably wondering why this boy's hair was so long and why this girl had such strange tattoos.

But she smiled as Shuichi handed her the pad of paper and pen, thanking her politely and inclining his head. He handed Rika the directions.

"Seven, all right?"

"Yeah," she said, looking at the paper. She was still peering at it when Shuichi let her know he was leaving. She hummed a bit in acknowledgment, and Shuichi left the park at a brisk pace, so he could meet his stepbrother.

He mused over his sudden spontaneity as he expertly glided through the crowd to reach the assigned meeting place. He normally wasn't so eager.

He also wondered why he felt so anxious, but brushed it off; it was a human reaction, typical with nearly everything. His mother still became nervous when she and his stepfather were going out for dinner together. He couldn't tell if it was anxiety over leaving her two sons at home, or the prospect of a romantic evening.

It was 4:55 when he finally reached the designated location, and he sat down on a bench in front of a shop window to wait. Younger Shuichi wouldn't find it odd that his older brother would be there before him. He usually was.

He would probably be a bit disappointed he hadn't cut his hair though. But he was reluctant to go through with it, since Rika had disapproved. Sighing, he tilted his head back to look up at the sky and the tops of buildings.

Suddenly so eager to please… he wouldn't have catered to her back in Makai. Hiei would often make a snide remark of how the human world had changed him for the worst, while adamantly denying that it had changed him as well. True, Hiei was still as silent and brooding as ever, but he wasn't so quick to kill, or lose his temper.

Shuichi had denied it as well, brushing it off as an act, to defend his pride. But now that he was thinking it over, he realized that maybe he had been changed.

"Shuichi!"

He recognized the voice as that of his stepbrother, but he guessed that since he was being trailed by his friends, he wasn't going to use the usual 'Shuu-ani'. He stood and smiled down at him, hands in his pockets.

"You didn't cut your hair."

"No, I ran into a friend and lost track of time."

Younger Shuichi nodded as his friends looked at older Shuichi with a mixed amount of respect. Most people were fond of him… he almost frowned when he thought of Rika, who was more than happy to sneer at him.

He shook his head slightly as he looked down the street. His stepbrother was saying his goodbyes, already making plans for the next outing. He couldn't really remember ever making plans with friends like Shuichi was doing now.

But, that was his own fault. He'd never had a desire to plan time with friends, except for the few times with the other Spirit Detectives. But then he remembered the plans made with Rika. Feeling a sense urgency, he wished that the younger boy would hurry.

He had to get home. He only had a month to win. He couldn't waste that time waiting for his brother to finally say an official goodbye. But he forced himself to wait, and nearly sighed in relief as the other boys headed off.

"I wonder what's for dinner."

"I don't know Shuichi, but we'll find out when we get home," the red head said, smiling. The trip back seemed to take years, and he was all too glad to be back home.

He eventually decided while helping his mother make dinner what his plan of action should be. He would play the same way he had played her guessing game. It had worked then, he had won on his first try. Though, Shuichi felt a built guilty that he was treating this like another game.

But it was an important one. His old self was shining through more than ever; he'd prove that he really could get anything he wanted. No matter how pathetic it made him feel or seem, he wouldn't let her go. He'd have her begging for him before long, the way it should have been.

* * *

_So, the fic pimping refused to work, no matter what I would do. So, you'll have to find it yourselves, since I'm too lazy to bother.  
_


	4. Chapter 4

_**Aaaah. I don't know what to say. **I'm kind of drowsy and I feel like fainting and I have no idea why. I really get the feeling this whole story will just be pointless fluff, and I hope I can remedy that. Siiiiigh. No lyrics for this chapter right now, I couldn't find any... if you have any that you think will fit, tell me. I'm going to go pass out somewhere.  
_

* * *

_**Seams**_

_Four_

It had taken a lot of smooth talking to get out of the spur of the moment night of family fun. Normally, Shuichi wouldn't mind staring at a board game, wishing it were more challenging; spending time with his family was usually a perk.

But it was already 7:15, and he could only imagine the lecture he'd get from Rika for leaving her out in a tree for fifteen minutes. So he slunk up the stairs, a frown on his face. His plan didn't really involve an angry Rika.

Not yet anyway.

He sighed, carefully opening his bedroom door, half expecting to be mauled. Instead, he was greeted with a cold breeze and two stares. He glanced at the window, reassured it wasn't broken, before closing the door behind him.

"I thought I had locked the window."

"And I unlocked it."

"Lucky me, because I couldn't feel my legs."

Rika was glaring at him, obviously not pleased with having been invited somewhere and then kept in a tree. Hiei, who Shuichi hadn't been expecting to see at all this month, was looking at him curiously.

"She said you invited her here," Hiei muttered, giving Rika a suspicious look.

"He wasn't going to let me in."

"I invited her Hiei," Shuichi sighed. "I wasn't expecting you to be here, however." This really messed with his plans. He hadn't wanted an audience.

His distress seemed to amuse the fire demon, and he unfurled himself as he moved away from the wall, closing the window.

"I came because I heard that Yomi had helped a demon get into human world. Mukuro assumed it was part of a plot." Hiei smirked suddenly, giving Shuichi a slight glimpse of fangs. "But now I see it was just an attempt at a romantic reunion."

"It's not romantic," Rika snapped, looking up from a book she had picked up from Shuichi's nightstand. "It's not even pleasant."

Hiei quirked an eyebrow, and Shuichi could only imagine what his thoughts were. But he was pretty sure that he was waiting to taunt him. In the silence he could hear his family talking downstairs, and he relaxed slightly. They hadn't heard anything so far.

"So, Kurama, what exactly am I interrupting?" Hiei asked casually. He strolled over to his friend's desk, picking up and fiddling with some of the newer items; he looked at the red head from the corner of his eye, amused.

Shuichi frowned, wishing he could toss Hiei back out the window. "You're not interrupting anything Hiei," he said reluctantly.

"You've become a terrible liar," the demon said simply.

Sighing, he glanced at Rika, who was smirking at the pages of the book. He could tell she wasn't reading; her eyes were on him, even though her head was lowered. He licked his lips slightly; the look was a little too 'come hither' for the moment at hand.

This was getting frustrating.

"I'm not lying to you Hiei."

He shrugged. "Then why is she here?"

Shuichi frowned as Hiei turned away from his desk, pocketing a small figure made of different metal parts. The red head didn't really mind, Hiei was usually snatching little things that caught his eye. After awhile he had started leaving things out just to try and get a better idea about the fire demon.

But it seemed he just took things at random, there was no pattern to what he took with him. Last time he had left with a pen.

He blinked as Hiei moved across the room to stand at the bed, where Rika was sitting. He lifted her chin and glanced over her face, before looking at her neck. He, of course, ignored Rika's protests.

"I see…" Hiei withdrew his hand, turning to look at Shuichi. "I think it's safe to assume that this wasn't done recently."

Shuichi couldn't stop himself from nodding. "It was a long time ago."

He was surprised at the hard look Hiei gave him. "Did you call her back here?"

"No, this bastard left me in the Makai with this stupid thing on," Rika snapped, taking part in the conversation now. "I had to come find him myself."

"Yomi told her where I was," Shuichi muttered.

"And he won't take the collar off now that I'm here," Rika continued irritably. This earned another curious look from Hiei.

"That's not usually what one does with a collar," he said snidely. "I can only imagine you're here so he can finally put you to use."

Shuichi watched as Rika tensed, her lip curling, before she leapt to her feet. He felt his energy reach out and tighten, before Rika suddenly stumbled to the side, bumping into him. The red head looked a bit surprised, before he looked at Hiei.

"That's not why she's here. I've never used her."

"No time like the present," he said with a shrug.

The room was filled with a tense silence, and the chatter downstairs paused, before continuing. Shuichi sighed, eyeing Hiei, as Rika shoved away from him and sat back down on his bed.

Finally, Hiei shrugged again and walked back to the window. "I'll leave you two to your business then. I have other things I have to take care of," he said, shoving the window open, before he leapt out and disappeared.

"I'm tempted to force you take this collar off," Rika muttered, her back to him. "I could just kill you," she added, the sneer in her voice obvious.

He sighed, sitting down on the edge of the bed. "Hiei was just trying to cause trouble," he muttered. She snuffed, moving further away from him. Shuichi frowned, cursing Hiei a thousand times over. Sighing, he picked up the book and walked over to his desk before sitting down.

He'd let her cool down first. He wasn't going to start something that would only make things worse. Like attracting a curious younger brother.

For awhile, the only sound was the ticking of a clock on his desk, breathing, and the pages of his book being turned. Finally, he heard Rika move and sigh.

"I'm hungry."

Shuichi smiled to himself, setting the book down and standing. "All right. Wait here," he said simply. Rika watched him as he walked out of the room and closed the door behind him.

His family was still playing their game, and he was sure he'd get a few questions and teasing prods about the food. It had only been about an hour since they had eaten, but thankfully he hadn't eaten too much that they would be suspicious.

So, he smiled and shrugged off the teasing that he had expected, and carefully carried the reheated food back up to his room.

"If it's not too much trouble I'd rather you eat at the desk," he said as he walked in. Rika looked a bit annoyed, but stood up obediently at migrated across the room as Shuichi used his foot to close the door.

"Here," he said, smiling slightly as he set the food in front of her. He felt a bit like a waiter, but the thought was chased away by Rika's comment.

"It doesn't look burned. You must not have made it," she said simply, poking at it. Shuichi raised his eyebrows.

"I did, actually," he said easily, moving away from her to sit on his bed. Rika snorted, but carefully began eating anyway.

"I think you're lying, this is too good to be something you made," she muttered, not bothering to turn and look at him. "Your human mother did this didn't she? I saw her in the window when I walked over here."

There was a pause, before she finally turned slightly, eyeing him with a frown. "How did all of this happen anyway?"

The red head tilted his head slightly, looking at the door with a thoughtful look. He'd been expecting this question.

"I suppose I can offer a story while you eat," he said with a shrug. Rika nodded, turning so she could eat and look at him.

Shuichi glanced at the clock on his desk: Eight o'clock. Hopefully she'd be tired after this and this awful evening would be over; nothing had gone as he had planned. He sighed, before beginning his story.

* * *

_You all know the story. I won't bore you.  
_


	5. Chapter 5

**_What, an update already? _**_Yes, an update already. I've been writing and playing Sims2 to relieve the stress of school. More fluff. It's disgusting. But romance books never have much plot content to begin with, do they? So, one person thought it was cool Hiei was a Klepto in the last chapter. I think it makes him all the more adorable. But that's just me. _

_I made Sims of Kurama and Rika, lol. I like making Sims more than I do playing them, so I like trying to match the Sim to it's counterpart. But Kurama's actual hair in the Sims looks ugly, so he doesn't have his trademark hairstyle. Because it's **ugly. **So there. I've already started chapter six. I hope this story will start getting actual content soon..._

**The lyrics are from "Blue Sunshine" by Blue October**

* * *

_**Seams**_

_Five_

"_I see your heart beat through the bed sheets/I feel your pulse against the floor…"_

It only took about half an hour for Shuichi to explain what had happened the last night he had been Youko, and then explain the possession of his human body. Explaining the family situation only took about five more minutes after that, and then thirty seconds to tell her he worked with his stepfather and mother.

"That's certainly not the path I would expect Youko to take," Rika said lightly, resting her chin on the back of the chair. She had finished eating while he was explaining the marriage of his mother. "Is this company based around stealing things?"

Shuichi laughed slightly and shook his head. "No. Just paper work. No stealing."

Humming, she licked her lips before sighing. "I'm thirsty now."

"I knew I was forgetting something," Shuichi muttered. He rose from the bed with a frown and Rika lazily handed him the empty plate.

"Thank you," she muttered. "It was good… a nice surprise."

Smiling, he only nodded before heading out of the room and back downstairs for the second time that night. She didn't seem to be in a bad mood anymore. Maybe tonight wasn't completely hopeless; there could still be progress.

He received no comments about the food this time around. His family had migrated to gather around the TV, watching some program that he was glad he was missing out on. It took some time staring into the fridge to finally decide that lemonade would probably be best.

Water probably would have been fine with Rika, but maybe she would like this more. He sighed when he realized he was thirsty as well. After a little more pondering he decided that he could probably manage sneaking up another glass of lemonade and not be noticed. He'd done more difficult things.

He was almost mortified when he had nearly gotten caught; he could steal from a heavily guarded building but he couldn't manage sneaking another glass up to his room? Luckily, his other hand was out of view.

"Shuichi, are you sure you don't want to watch this with us?"

"Ah… sorry Mother, but I was going to get ready to go to bed soon. I'm a little more tired than usual."

"Well you did work very hard today," Shiori muttered, a thoughtful look on her face. Finally she nodded. "There's always tomorrow."

Shuichi smiled, nodding as well, and hurried upstairs when his mother had turned back to the television. Rika lifted her head from the desk when he returned, and eyed the glass suspiciously. She relaxed when he got closer.

"It smells like fruit."

"Lemons," Shuichi clarified. "It's good, I have some too," he added, showing her the extra glass. He set hers down, and meandered back to his bed, sitting down with a sigh. He was suddenly as tired as he had claimed to be, and he could tell that Rika was getting there as well.

She took a hesitant sip while he took a grateful drink and he watched her carefully. She blinked rapidly, and licked her lips, looking surprised. "You should have learned to make things like humans do a long time ago," she said finally.

Smiling, Shuichi took another drink. It seemed food was turning out to be a good way to start; that's where most dates began anyway, so why not the game?

Satisfied with how things were going he set his glass on the nightstand and settled in, leaning back against the wall as he watched Rika finish her drink.

"Rika… what exactly did you do, after that night?"

She looked a bit surprised that he was asking, but moved to get comfortable. She lifted her shoulders in a halfhearted shrug.

"I lived my life the same way I did before I met you. Just with a collar on," she said simply. "I left the den, but I went back to check on it. Miyu and Shouta live there now. All of your things were still there."

Shuichi was rather pleased to hear that. For a while when his human body had been younger he had often worried what would happen to his den and the things inside it. It was one of the reasons he was so intent on returning to the Makai. He eventually stopped worrying a little after he had decided to stay with Shiori.

"They had six children by then," Rika muttered, as if just remembering that fact. "Two girls."

"I'm sure Shouta was pleased with the number of boys."

"I didn't ask. I only checked in. Miyu tried to convince me to stay, but I left anyway. I had nothing to say to them."

He could have guessed as much. Rika hadn't always been the most talkative, but Miyu would talk to anything that could hear. But then, maybe he just hadn't been around enough to hear Rika talk.

"Shouta was wondering why you hadn't come back," she said finally.

"I'm sure he was more wondering when I would come back and kick him out," he said with a smile. "They don't need me back, if things are good enough that they have six children."

Rika shrugged again. "That demon, Hiei… who is he, exactly?"

"He's the reason the stories about babies falling from the glacier came around," Shuichi said, smiling wryly.

"That's really him?"

He nodded a bit, taking in Rika's look of surprise. "Why? Not what you imagined?"

"He was… actually rather polite," she said blinking. "He actually talked to me, instead of cutting off my head like he had threatened. Then he opened the window and let me in." A thoughtful frown crossed her face. "He doesn't seem very forbidden to me."

Shuichi could have guessed that a gruff interrogation would be seen as more polite than lobbing off someone's head. But he was rather proud of Hiei either way.

"He's a very enigmatic person."

"So are you."

"Yes, well… it's part of the fun," he said with a shrug. "You don't need anything else do you?"

"Other than getting this collar off? No," Rika said. She suddenly shifted a bit, and sighed, looking uncomfortable. He couldn't really guess as to why, but he was distracted by the footsteps coming up the stairs.

Rika seemed to hear them too, because she slipped off the chair and easily slipped into the closet. Shuichi was a bit surprised at how willing she was to hide, when he realized he was supposed to be getting ready for bed like he had claimed.

He managed to tug on an old t-shirt just as Shuichi poked his head in, looking a little bleary-eyed. "Shuu-ani… thanks for taking me downtown today," he muttered. Smiling, the red head nodded.

"It wasn't a problem Shuichi. It turned out to be a good thing for me too."

"Oh… well, then you won't mind taking me again tomorrow."

"We'll see. Goodnight Shuichi," he said pointedly. His younger brother seemed to get the hint; nodding and muttering goodnight, he closed the door behind him and walked down the hallway. Rika slipped back out from the closet.

"Shuu-ani," Rika cooed. "That's adorable. Is he still a kit?"

Shuichi rolled his eyes as he sat down on his bed.

"You have a very spacious and clean closet, by the way."

"Thank you. Do you plan on sleeping here?" Shuichi asked, rubbing the back of his neck as he bit back a yawn. The clock told him it was close to nine. He usually didn't go to bed until an hour or two later.

"You're the one that said you had a place for me to go," Rika said, suddenly agitated. "Is this where you had in mind? Your room and your closet?"

"Well, just for tonight," Shuichi replied. He had been hoping she wouldn't be so adverse to the idea. "I have to make sure it's all right before I send you somewhere."

Sighing, Rika crossed her arms. "I'm not sleeping in the same bed," she announced. She was eyeing him warily now, as if waiting for him to pounce.

"You don't have to," he said, getting up from the bed and walking to the closet. After a few seconds of reaching and grabbing, a cascade of blankets and pillows tumbled to the floor. Rika didn't seem too adverse to the idea, since she didn't complain again.

She quietly began sorting through and arranging them to her satisfaction. Shuichi walked back to the bed and tugged the covers back before slipping under them. Now that Rika seemed to be somewhat satisfied, he just wanted to sleep.

He nearly had that goal accomplished when he heard the door open, and another one close across the hall. He heaved a sigh as he sat up, looking to the floor. He had to lean a bit to find Rika's bed, which she had arranged in the bottom of the closet. It looked more like a carefully arranged nest than anything.

But it was currently vacant, and that worried him. After a quick check that his parents were no longer downstairs, he decided that there wasn't much to worry about. It's not like Rika could get lost or caught. She could tell when someone was behind a door.

A little annoyed that he had bothered getting up at all, he retreated back to his bed for the night, and didn't bother looking up when the door closed again and rustling came from the closet.

"…Good night, Shuichi."

A small smile crossed his face at the hesitation; he could picture what she looked like, half curled in the blankets with a small frown on her face. It was just too bad he'd have to find somewhere else for her to stay. It would make the game difficult. But he liked the challenge.

And that 'good-night' was just another sign of progress he could put onto the board.

"Good night, Rika."

* * *

_**Wut? You can't deny what the characters are telling you to write, that's rude.  
**_


	6. Chapter 6

_**Oh fiddle. **So, it's still kind of... plotless. So I gave it a small side plot. I think I'll just have to accept the fact that this story will just be fluff following a certain path.  
_

* * *

_**Seams**_

_Six_

Shuichi woke up earlier than usual, and was greeted with a quiet a quiet house and a bird twittering in the tree outside his window. It sounded just as drowsy as he felt. A quick check confirmed that Rika was still sleeping, drowning in the pile of blankets and pillows.

He decided that he should take a shower now, so he could begin the process of finding Rika's temporary home sooner. And he also wouldn't have to worry about someone walking into his room while he wasn't there to prevent it; no one else was awake.

During the quick shower Shuichi ran through his housing options; Yusuke was constantly working, helping with the noodle shop and working as a low key Spirit Detective for his own amusement. This meant that Rika might like the arrangement, without anyone really around but Atsuko. It was just the mess that he knew she'd be against.

Keiko couldn't have her stay in her home, her parents were always around, and that would mean unnecessary explaining. But, they did accept Yusuke, the thug he was. Maybe they wouldn't mind Rika.

Kuwabara was already housing one demon, Yukina, and while Shuichi was sure that they would be gracious about letting her stay, he didn't want to burden them.

Hiei stayed with Mukuro in the Makai, but he wasn't really an option to begin with. He'd refuse before Shuichi could finish asking.

He realized with a sigh that his hopes rested with Genkai, and her large compound. He had been reluctant to resort to the old woman's home, not because it would be an offense, but because he wasn't sure who was staying there now. The old woman had expressed her desire to use the temple as a haven for demons that wished to stay in Ningenkai in peace.

The place would either be completely empty, or there could be others already there. But he supposed that Rika could handle herself. She only wanted a place to stay, and the temple was definitely a place for that.

Reaching a decision he finished his shower, and continued to mull things over. He had brought clothes with him, knowing that Rika wouldn't find it amusing to see him with only a towel and after getting dressed returned to his room.

Rika was half hanging out the window. It didn't look like she was trying to escape; it was hard to do that with your eyes half closed. She took a deep breath, before finally turning to him.

"You look more like a girl when your hair is wet," she muttered. He only shrugged.

"I think I have a place for you to stay now. But we'll have to leave soon. I still have work," he said. Rika seemed interested, and she tilted her head. "You'll probably be there alone," he added.

"Sounds like a nice place."

He raised his eyebrows, before ushering her out the window. "I'll meet you outside," he said as she jumped onto the branch of the tree and grabbed the trunk. "Just wait for me, okay?"

She rolled her eyes, but nodded. Shuichi closed the window and walked out of his bedroom, heading downstairs. Like he had expected his mother was already awake, working on making breakfast for everyone.

"Good morning Shuichi," she said, smiling. "You're up early. Did you want something specific for breakfast?"

"No mother, I'm afraid I'll just have to take something to go. I promised to help a friend this morning, and I have to go now if I'm going to make it to work. Can you let Hatanaka know?"

Shiori sighed but nodded. She was used to her son leaving at odd times to help his friends, and handed him something he could eat on the way. She watched him carefully as he looked at the food, before casting her an uncomfortable glance. "Some for your friend?" she guessed.

Shuichi nodded and Shiori laughed slightly, taking the food back and putting more in a container. "Be safe," she said sternly. Shuichi would often come home with strange injuries and scars when he went somewhere. She worried, but Shuichi seemed to be handling himself.

He thanked her politely, gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and hurried off. She heard him fumble to get his shoes on, but a moment later he was out the door, and she was left shaking her head. As proud as she was of him, he really was a strange boy.

Rika leapt out of the tree when she saw him come outside. Shuichi hadn't noticed before, but she had already brushed her hair. It wasn't the mess he had gotten used to seeing all that time ago. He smiled and nodded towards the sidewalk, before walking. Rika fell into step with him.

"What's that?" she asked finally, gesturing to the container.

"Breakfast. I have enough for both of us," he said, smiling slightly. She looked eager to have more food, and carefully took the container from him, peering inside. She made a distressed sound. Nothing to eat with.

"We'll have to eat it when we get there."

"Well how far away is this place? I'd rather be eating it now than waiting forever."

He explained where they were going; it was further out of the city, away from the noise. It would take a little while to get there, but it was a nice place, with lots of space. Rika only sighed and looked at the food forlornly. Shuichi finally had to resort to buying cheap chopsticks at a dollar store.

Rika ate her half on the way, and was about to go into his share before he snatched it away from her. This earned him an irritated look, but he ignored it. She couldn't expect him to not eat just because she wanted more.

The food was gone by the time they reached the steps that led to the temple. Rika didn't utter a word about the number of steps, and walked up them without complaint, observing the area around them.

There were still weak wards around the trees that shuddered in agitation when they walked by. Shuichi was starting to wonder if they were actually there to ward others off, or to warn others that someone was coming.

It seemed to be the latter because someone was waiting for them at the top of the stairs. Shuichi was used to Genkai standing there, complaining that they had taken forever to get up the stairs. In her place stood a demon, a younger male, who eyed them carefully.

He didn't look to be a lower demon; his features were human enough, though his skin had a green tinge. He couldn't guess at what type of demon he was.

"Who are you?" the demon asked finally.

"I'm Kurama; this temple is under my care, along with my friends," he said, frowning slightly. This demon hadn't been here the last time he had taken his turn to check. "She needs a place to stay, so I brought her here."

Rika stayed silent her lips set in a thin line. She made no effort to offer any sort of name, and while the demon didn't look satisfied, he didn't press the subject. "There's room," he muttered. "There are only three of us here."

There was a long moment of silence, before the demon finally sighed. "Come this way then," he said. The demon seemed to have taken it upon himself to act as surrogate owner. Shuichi didn't really mind. He knew the temple like the back of his hand, but he didn't know how these demons had set up things among themselves.

He didn't, however, look thrilled. "There are a few rooms she can stay in," he grumbled, gesturing to the rooms with open doors, a few more were being slid closed. It didn't seem like the demons were retreating in a hurry; they may have been nocturnal.

"Who are the others?" Shuichi asked finally. The demon tour guide paused, as if thinking.

"My family," he said finally. He nodded towards Rika. "She can have any room, we don't really care. But don't expect us to cater to her."

"As if I would need your catering," Rika mumbled. The demon frowned, but Shuichi asked another question before things could get out of hand.

"You never told us your name. What is it?"

"I'm Hiroshi," he said, looking at Shuichi. He inclined his head slightly. "Now if you'll excuse me…" he turned and walked off, disappearing into one of the rooms with a closed door. Rika frowned after him, before she began peering into the other rooms.

"You'll be all right on your own, I know that much… here," Shuichi said, putting a hand on her shoulder to stop her inspection. She sighed, but gave him a confused look when he placed money in her hands. "I don't want you stealing food from places."

"I can catch things you know."

"I know. But you didn't choose catching an animal over the food I brought this morning. So I don't want you stealing food when you're given an option between the two. I don't need you getting in trouble."

Rika frowned at him, pursing her lips slightly. "You're acting like you're my mother."

"If you get in trouble, you'll be taken away some where. I won't be able to win the game or get the collar off. It's a lose-lose situation," he explained. "So be careful."

She nodded slightly, looking at the money as Shuichi told her he'd check on her later. She walked off, grunting in acknowledgement. He glanced at his watch, and guessed he should have enough time to make it to work and not be too late.

He hurried out of the temple and down the steps, sighing slightly. Hopefully, he'd be able to think of some better tactics at work. When he reached the street, he had to hop onto a bus to make it to the halfway mark; the crowded bus was unbearable by then, so he hopped off and walked the rest of the way.

Shuichi paused about a block away, peering into a shop window; Hiei again. A quick glance and slight movement proved that the shop owner was casting the small demon suspicious looks. He must have assumed that he was a rebellious teenager that would break something and not pay.

Unable to resist temptation, Shuichi slipped into the shop. It wasn't anything too remarkable, rather tiny with no specific trade. It had just about everything lining the shelves and walls; food, books, cards, cheap little toys, small glass figures. Hiei was inspecting the glass, his hands hidden in his cloak.

But the demon glanced in his direction and scowled, gliding away from them. But Shuichi reached him sooner and smiled. "Good morning, Hiei."

"Hnnn."

Shuichi raised his eyebrows. It seemed Hiei had mixed his typical response with a groan. "Am I interrupting something?"

"No," Hiei snapped, glaring at him for a moment before he glanced back at the glass. He sighed, looking down. "That idiot has decided to celebrate Yukina's birthday."

Shuichi watched as Hiei's face darkened. "There's nothing good enough for her," he bit out quietly. The red head was a bit surprised over Hiei's reaction, but understood the turmoil. Hiei, whether he admitted it or not, often felt compelled to play his role of brother, even though he had never told Yukina.

Yukina had figured it out by now, but she was waiting rather patiently for Hiei to come around on his own. Maybe the present would help.

"Well, Hiei, I can help you after work if you like," Shuichi said finally, glancing at his watch. He didn't wish Hiei a happy birthday; he knew it would only agitate the demon even more. "I'm sure you'll be able to find me."

Hiei nodded slightly, still scowling as Shuichi took his leave and hurried the rest of the way to work, smiling slightly; maybe he would be able to find something for Rika.

* * *

_**I was unsure about Yusuke and Keiko's housing arrangements, but everything else should be accurate. **In the manga, Yukina is invited by Kuwabara's father to stay with them in their home. I also read that Genkai put the temple in the hands of all of the others, with the hope that it would be a haven for demons with peaceful intentions. It didn't say when she died, or how old everyone was at the time, but she was old already. Either she died, or she left to do something she really wanted to before she died. _

_Because Genkai seems like the type of person to do that. _

_I'm also sure that Hiei and Yukina probably know exactly when they were born; Hiei was very aware of his surroundings when he was born, so I see no reason why Yukina wouldn't have been as well. Yukina was probably also told when her birthday was. Even if they have no idea, Koenma probably does and Kuwabara could have asked. I personally have no idea when their birthday would have been. _


	7. Chapter 7

_**I'm getting kind of stressed because of school. **So I'm sorry if it seems to be affecting my writing and plot development. I told myself I should wait, but I couldn't stop myself from writing. So, here we are. _

**The lyrics are from "The Boring Life" by The Sly Caps.**

* * *

_**Seams**_

_Seven_

_"Who am I kidding?/ Nothing ever goes my way..."_

After relaying the message of his late return to home, Shuichi met Hiei in the small shopping district of the town. Hiei was irritated with the number of people, but Shuichi carefully explained that a dollar store wasn't the place to look.

Shuichi thought the fire demon may have looked a bit embarrassed, but he stopped complaining. Keeping in mind that Yukina was his first priority, he meandered along the street with Hiei in tow, peering in the shop windows.

Hiei stopped before he did, and after a pause walked into the store. Shuichi was confused for a moment, before he followed after him. The store was small, but he realized it had caught Hiei's attention because there was more glass.

Shuichi found Hiei peering at a shelf of glass birds, a frown on his face. Apparently they weren't up to his satisfaction, so Shuichi headed off to find something else that might meet Hiei's standards.

The store had plenty of little endearing things, but he could see why Hiei wasn't pleased with them; they weren't exactly perfectly made, but it wasn't something that a human was likely to notice unless they spent time appraising items.

He finally stopped at a shelf of little music boxes, and finally Hiei walked over to his side. "This isn't working," he grumbled.

"Well, don't be so sure Hiei. I think Yukina would like one of these. They play music. A lot of women like them," he said, peering at one. Hiei gave the boxes a skeptical look, but he stayed put.

"You were looking for something with birds, weren't you?" Shuichi asked. Hiei stayed silent, but he knew that was probably the case. Yukina spent a lot of time with birds. Finally, Hiei spoke.

"She's told me that there aren't many birds that come by the house," he muttered, looking down. "I told her there are more at the temple, but she likes living with those humans… I know she wouldn't mention it to the moron, she wouldn't want him to think she wasn't happy with how things were."

"It would be impolite," Shuichi muttered, thinking this over. They could easily find a bird feeder that would bring the birds in, but maybe Hiei didn't think Yukina would like it. It wasn't really an attractive present. "Do you plan on giving it to her in private?"

Hiei stayed silent, and Shuichi sighed, looking at him. "I think it would mean a lot to her if you gave her the gift Hiei, she wouldn't care what it is."

Hiei snuffed, turning his head. Shuichi tried again.

"I'll get her a gift too; you wanted to give her something nice, with birds," he said. "And I can give her something that can bring birds to the yard."

Hiei raised his eyebrows. "Bring birds?"

"If you set up bird feeders…" he trailed off, before smiling. "I have an even better idea Hiei. When is Yukina's actual birthday?" he asked, looking at the fire demon. Hiei scowled, as if trying to remember.

"Two days."

"And when is this party?"

"Tomorrow."

"So will anyone be there after the party?"

"How should I know?"

"Find out for me. I think I know something she would enjoy much more than a little figurine."

Shuichi smiled again when Hiei gave him a careful look, before he nodded slightly and left the store. Shuichi followed him. He hadn't see anything there that Rika would like.

"What exactly are you planning fox?"

"Nothing bad Hiei, don't worry. I'll tell you when you find out when no one will be there but Yukina," he said simply. Hiei was gone a moment later, leaving Shuichi on his own to find something Rika would like.

He would have been on his own even if Hiei were there, but at least he would have had someone to talk to. He usually liked the banter that shot between them; it was more entertaining than the polite conversations he had with his family.

He finally walked into another store, filled with other random things geared towards females. But little bits of jewelry didn't feel right to him, and he left that store too. He glanced at his watch. He only had a little more time until dinner, but he had already told his stepfather that he would be late.

He just didn't want to be too late.

He continued walking, and it wasn't long before a loud voice was calling him over, urging his bastard self to hurry up or get his ass kicked. Shuichi tried to look amused, though he was a bit agitated with being interrupted. Not that Yusuke would care.

"I haven't seen you around in way too long," Yusuke said irritably, even as he was serving noodles to an older couple. "What have ya been doin' exactly? Startin' your own business?"

"Not exactly. And Keiko told me not to visit you when you were working," Shuichi said, smiling a bit.

"She's helpin' Kuwabara find a present for his one true love," Yusuke said, rolling his eyes. "I mean, I like Yukina an' all, but Kuwa is bein' a little ridiculous about it. I wouldn't be surprised if he proposed to her. Good thing Hiei won't be there."

"He won't?"

"I asked him. Said he didn't want to be surrounded by morons all night. That was earlier today, actually, saw him walkin' around like you were. He wasn't too happy with the way I had called him over, but he told me he just didn't want to go to the party. I guess he'll see Yukina another time," he said with a shrug.

"He was trying to find a gift for her," Shuichi explained, finally taking a seat. Yusuke laughed.

"A gift? No wonder he looked so confused. Guess he couldn't find anythin' huh?" he frowned slightly, some sympathy on his face. Shuichi shook his head.

"I have an idea for him though. I told him to see when no one else would be at the house, so I'll probably see him later tonight. What are you getting her?"

"I dunno. Keiko wouldn't let me pick it out. So I'll have to make sure I don't look too surprised. What are you doing then? Lookin' for a gift too?"

"Yes, but not for Yukina," he said, smiling a bit. Yusuke raised his eyebrows.

"Hold that thought," he said, before turning to serve a customer. Shuichi waited patiently, listening to the noise. It was getting busy, since it was almost dinner, and a lot of people who were too busy to cook were stopping by. Yusuke returned a few minutes later.

"All right, so it's not for Yukina," Yusuke said, looking up at the ceiling. "I don't know anyone else you'd be lookin' for, it's not your mom's birthday or somethin' is it?"

Shuichi laughed slightly, shaking his head. "That was a while ago Yusuke."

"Anniversary?"

"No."

"Well what about your step family, they got somethin' goin' on?" When Shuichi shook his head, Yusuke scowled, crossing his arms. Finally, his eyes widened slightly. "You got a girlfriend or somethin' now?"

"Not exactly."

"Whaddya mean, not exactly? Did you not ask her out yet or somethin'?" Yusuke gave him a puzzled look. "I don't think you have to worry about bein' rejected, ya know."

"I'm in the process of winning her over," Shuichi said simply. Yusuke still looked puzzled, before a look crossed his face.

"Is she not from around here?" Yusuke asked curiously. Shuichi smiled; Yusuke was quicker than he let on. "So you're doin' things the uh… old way huh?"

"I have to go through the whole process, yes," Shuichi said, looking amused. He knew that Yusuke knew enough of the formalities demons had when courting someone. The teen had never really understood why they were there, but when Shuichi had told him it was complicated, Yusuke had dropped the subject.

"Man… I didn't think you were, ya know… lookin' outside of town for a girl," Yusuke said, frowning a bit.

"I wasn't planning on it."

"What? All right, we need to talk more about all of this later," Yusuke said, glancing at the customers. "Finish your shopping, we'll talk tomorrow at that party, all right?"

Shuichi nodded, and after vacating his seat to a man in a hurry, took his leave. He continued his search for a gift for Rika, before something caught his eye. An amused look crossed his face as he stepped into the store.

Maybe she wouldn't see the humor, but he bought his find anyway and hurried to make it home. He'd give Rika his gift after dinner. He hoped Hiei would find him somewhere along the way.

But Shuichi made it home without an appearance from the demon, and the gift sparked a few questions from his family. He explained that his friend was celebrating her birthday tomorrow, and they left it at that. He was sure they had been expecting a tale of a girlfriend they would be meeting soon.

He was a bit disappointed when he noticed the time. Dinner had taken longer than usual, and leaving to see Rika now would mean he wouldn't be home until about ten. He decided he would visit her in the morning, but his plans for the night weren't completely shot.

Hiei was waiting for him in his room, the little figurine he had taken last time back in its place on his desk. The demon was standing away from the desk, and Shuichi made no comment on the figurine's reappearance.

"Yukina says that the whole family is gone during the day," he said simply. He frowned. "But what are planning fox, because-"

"No need to threaten Hiei, it's nothing bad," Shuichi said with a smile. He set the gift down, before walking to the bed and sitting down. "I'm sure she'll enjoy it. So, we can go there the day after the party. I'll take care of everything Hiei, you just have to show up."

Hiei scowled, tilting his head, before he suddenly disappeared. Shuichi hummed a bit, before swearing, his gaze settling on his desk.

Hiei had taken Rika's gift.

* * *

_Oh that limy, gift stealing, bastard. Now you'll all have to wait and see what it is. Yes, Hiei and I are plotting against you.  
_


	8. Chapter 8

_**AP Test Tomorrow. **I'm freaking myself out, I know it. Hopefully I don't forget everything I've studied. So, I wrote all of this at school, over the course of two class periods. I can't be bothered to look over it again, so if you find something, tell me. I think I'm going to go play Sims..._

**The lryics are from "All of Your Love" by Hellogoodbye.**

* * *

_**Seams**_

_Eight_

_"But you can't be close enough unless I'm feeling your heartbeat."_

Shuichi let out a long, annoyed sigh. Hiei had never taken anything that he had never seen before. There was the possibility he had looked in the bag while he was waiting, since he had no idea how long he had been in his room. But he was starting to think that Hiei had to have known what it was, and that he had probably taken it on purpose.

He glanced at the clock, which dutifully told him that it was 8:15. It was a little late for him to be searching the city for an elusive gift thief. But he needed it back by that night if he was going to give it to Rika in the morning.

Letting out another sigh, he announced to his family that he would be going to bed early again. After reassuring his mother that he wasn't sick, he shut the door, and flipped off the light, before climbing out of his bedroom window. At least he wouldn't have to worry about anyone finding his empty room while he was out tonight.

He found Hiei's energy rather quickly and followed it, before he realized he was probably being tricked; the path was leading him everywhere, and he should have guessed if Hiei were going to let his energy be tracked, he'd lead them on the wrong trail.

But it was his only lead, so he continued following the messy trail until he was interrupted. "Hey, looking for a gift again?"

He paused, sighing, before looking at Yusuke. He was closing up, and was calling to him from the open door again. He was grinning, laughing silently at his own comment, before he caught the solemn look on his friend's face. Frowning he waved him over.

"What, are you really havin' that much trouble?" Yusuke questioned. Shuichi shook his head a bit.

"No, Yusuke, I have a gift. Or at least I had one, until Hiei stole it," he muttered.

"Hiei stole it? Why the hell would he do that, doesn't he have a job to do or something?" He paused, looking thoughtful. "Do you think he took it for Yukina? Maybe he didn't like your gift idea."

"It's possible. But I'm not sure he's actually looked at the gift. Either way, the only trail I have led me back over here. But it branched off in different directions at some point…" he sighed. "Maybe Hiei's just bored."

"He's always been a little weird like that," Yusuke muttered. "All right, I'll help you. It'll be like our detective days again, eh?"

Shuichi smiled at Yusuke's excitement as he finished closing up, making sure the door was locked behind him. He had a determined look on his face, running a hand over his black hair out of habit. He didn't slick it back as often as he used to.

"Well… I haven't actually sensed Hiei around here in awhile. Maybe he's not here anymore. We need to find somewhere else he's likely to go," he said finally.

"He doesn't spend time in the Ningenkai often, Yusuke, you know that. He's usually at my house, or with Yukina and he's been to both already. If Hiei doesn't want to be found, he's not going to be with Yukina."

"But we should check," Yusuke insisted. "If he dropped off the gift, you can get it back."

Shuichi frowned a bit, before nodding. It wouldn't hurt to check; the trail didn't go any further so he would have had to turn back either way. Even if he wasn't there, it was possible Yukina would still know where her brother was.

He jogged after Yusuke, trying to figure out why Hiei was doing this other than to torture him. But Hiei wasn't an easy person to figure out to begin with, so by the time they had reached Kuwabara's, he had gone in circles over the possibilities.

Shizuru was a bit annoyed to see them, and while Kuwabara was curious, they obediently brought Yukina forward and left them to talk. Yukina was a bit puzzled by their refusals to step inside, so to be polite stood outside with them.

"Is something wrong? You look bothered," she said, eyeing both of them.

"Have you seen Hiei recently?" Yusuke asked, frowning. Yukina tilted her head slightly.

"I saw him twice today. Once this morning and then about half an hour ago," she replied, before looking worried. "Did something happen to him? Is he in trouble?"

Yusuke grinned, which seemed to make Yukina relax slightly. "Only with Kurama here. Hiei took something important, and we can't find him."

Yukina sighed, looking at Shuichi. "I'm sorry. He hasn't come by here since then," she said. "I can't believe Hiei would take something important from you. He never said anything bad about you."

"I know Yukina. I think he's only doing this to get on my nerves, not to hurt me," Shuichi said, smiling slightly. "Do you think you could try and figure out where he is? Yusuke and I have been trying, but Hiei's covered his trail rather well."

"Oh, well, I could try. I want to help any way I can," she said, a determined look crossing her face as she straightened slightly. "It might take me awhile, it's not something I usually do," she added. Shuichi nodded in acknowledgement, and all three of them fell silent as Yukina looked at the ground with a frown.

He waited patiently as the minutes ticked by, before Yukina finally looked up with a sigh. "I'm not really positive… but it feels like he's near Genkai's. I don't know why he would be there, unless he decided to check on the place. It was Kuwabara's turn this week, and I know Hiei doesn't trust him very much."

Yusuke had let out a groan when he had heard the location, but Shuichi thanked Yukina anyway. The ice maiden smiled and nodded her head, watching as they ran off before heading back inside.

"We're gonna be out all night," Yusuke grumbled as they ran. Shuichi sighed, but knew he was right. Genkai's temple was a long way out, and there was still the chance that Hiei wouldn't even be there. He'd kill the demon when he found him, if that was the case.

By the time they reached the temple stairs it was almost ten, and Yusuke was having enough of the game. "Hiei, you little bastard, you'd better be here!" he shouted irritably, jogging up the steps.

Shuichi sighed and hurried after him, not the least bit surprised to see an irritated Hiroshi waiting at the top of the steps.

"Some of us are sleeping you know. Or at least trying to," he said, his voice tight. Yusuke wasn't listening as he walked past him, looking for the demon that had caused all of this. Hiroshi cast him an annoyed look, before turning to Shuichi.

"If you're here to check up on her, she's fine. Still has all of her limbs, and all of that."

"That's good to know, but not why we're here. Did another demon show up tonight?"

Sighing, Hiroshi nodded. "Those wards picked up something, but nothing was here when I came to check. If you want to look you can, but I haven't sensed any threats tonight, other than the ones to my sleep."

Shuichi gave him an apologetic look, before heading after Yusuke to search the temple. They checked every room for any sign of the demon, but they knew full well that Hiei could disappear from sight the minute he heard a door sliding open; if he really wanted, he could have left the minute he sensed them near by.

At one point they were shooed away by an irritable mother, that Shuichi assumed was Hiroshi's family. "I just got him to sleep, go away," she hissed, standing quickly and shooing them away.

"Sorry," Yusuke muttered, before hurrying off down the hallway. Shuichi sighed as the door slid shut again.

"And here I had thought they were nocturnal," he said lightly. He paused, raising his eyebrows; one door was open slightly, a sliver of light coming through and running along the floor of the hallway and up along the opposite wall to the ceiling. And Shuichi was caught in it at the moment.

With a frown he walked over and peered inside, before rolling his eyes and opening the door. Hiei was sitting up against a wall, looking rather content, and an annoyed looking Rika was eyeing him from her bed, her lips pursed slightly.

Apparently Yusuke hadn't been the only one waking others up.

Hiei looked up at him, feigning irritation. "It took you long enough. You're truly pathetic if it took you this long to find me. And with help," he added, when Yusuke peered over Shuichi's shoulder.

"Great, they found you. Now get the hell out of my room," Rika snapped. Hiei didn't even look at her, his gaze locked with Shuichi's.

"You haven't even gotten your gift," he said lightly, standing up and walking over to her. He smirked at Shuichi, and dumped the contents of the bag on her bed. Shuichi scowled, realizing that Hiei was trying to meddle with the game.

Yusuke frowned. "What the hell is going on?" he asked. Rika frowned as she picked up the necklace, a bit puzzled, before letting out a short laugh.

"A feather," she muttered. "You have a strange sense of humor," she added, glancing at Shuichi. The red head stayed quiet, a bit bothered things weren't going according to his terms. He hadn't wanted an audience for this either.

"Okay, seriously… what am I missing?" Yusuke demanded, looking at all of them. Hiei shrugged, looking at Shuichi. Rika made no effort to explain either, carefully inspecting her necklace. "C'mon Kurama, really."

With a defeated look, he turned to Yusuke. "You remember what I told you earlier today," he muttered.

Yusuke blinked, before raising his eyebrows and looking at Rika, who glanced at him with a frown. "Oh. So uh…" he licked his lips slightly, apparently unsure about what he should say. "How's he doin'?"

Rika snorted and shook her head slightly. "I'm not going to tell him or you," she said. "But he'll go into negative points if he decides to have gifts delivered at this time again."

Shuichi gave Hiei and irritated look, but the fire demon was unaffected. "Trust me, this wasn't my idea," he muttered.

Sighing, Yusuke leaned against the door. "Well it's already…" he paused, grabbing Shuichi's wrist and glancing at the watch. "10:18. I plan on sleeping tonight, so I'm staying here," he announced.

"Not in my room you aren't," Rika grumbled.

"I wasn't planning on _that_," Yusuke said, frowning. He was silent for a moment, before giving Shuichi's shoulder a friendly, hard, pat. "I'll see ya later. And don't pull this crap again, Hiei," he added, glaring at the demon.

Hiei regarded him with a bored expression. "No one asked you to help him, _detective_."

Yusuke waved him off, before disappearing down the hallway. Things fell silent again, before Rika sighed. "Can you get out of my room so I can go to sleep?"

Hiei grunted slightly, before walking out of the room, pushing past Shuichi who caught the sleeve of his cloak with his fingers. Hiei sighed, waiting.

"Good night Rika."

"Good night fox."

Shuichi watched her flop back onto the pillow, before he slid the door closed. Hiei was waiting patiently, his hands in his pockets. Shuichi released his cloak with a sigh. They stood for a moment, before they both turned and headed to a door that would take them outside.

"Is there a reason you're doing this?" Shuichi asked finally. The night air was crisp, but it felt more refreshing than anything now. Hiei was silent, his gaze focused on the trees, whose branches were swaying slightly in the wind.

Hiei finally looked at him. "Not really. This game is boring, you need a challenge every so often," he said. His expression was solemn, but Shuichi caught a hint of amusement on his face. "She really liked the gift you know."

"This really wasn't what I had in mind when I bought it."

"Your life is boring, Kurama. I'm just keeping you on your toes. I'm sure a part of you appreciates it, even if I am interfering."

"Apparently your life is getting dull as well, if this is what you're resorting to for entertainment."

"I'm staying here tonight," was all he said, before disappearing.

Shuichi stayed where he was, looking at the place Hiei had been. Finally, he looked at his watch, and headed back inside. It was too late to even think about heading back now. If he was going to get sleep at all tonight, he'd have to take Yusuke's lead and sleep here.

It wouldn't be the first time he'd stayed at the temple, but the thought that Rika was so close, curled under her blankets alone… he had a strong urge to drop down next to her and sleep, like he had before when he would come back late at night. For some reason, her presence changed the temple completely.

He resisted the temptation to turn into a fox; he knew Rika favored the form and probably wouldn't turn him away. But he had made himself a promise. He'd live a human life from now on. Turning into a fox wasn't going to help that.

With a sigh, he resigned himself to the fact that he would be sleeping alone. It wouldn't have bothered him so much, if the opportunity to change that weren't so easy to take.

* * *

_The gift is only anti-climatic if you forgot Youko's gift giving phase in Tryst. If you remember, there's some humor for you, eh? Consider it like an inside joke.  
_


	9. Chapter 9

_**I've been very tired and uninterested lately. **This happens a lot; here comes the depression guys! I'll keep writing, but I'll forget what I'm writing about and sort of go on and on. So it might take me longer to get chapters out. We'll see.  
_

* * *

_**Seams**_

_Nine_

The night dragged on for Shuichi, and it felt like he had been sleeping for a week when Yusuke nudged him with his foot and told him to wake up.

"If you're gonna make it back before they realize you've left, you better head back now," Yusuke said, once Shuichi had sat up to rub the sleep away. "You'll get there about six, I think," he added. Shuichi nodded, muttering his thanks as he vacated the bed with a sigh.

His clothes were horribly wrinkled, and his hair was a mess, but Yusuke didn't tease him; instead he took over the empty bed and went back to sleep. Shaking his head, Shuichi headed out of the room, running his fingers through his hair carefully in an attempt to make it look somewhat presentable.

He knew Rika wouldn't be awake. She had never liked getting up early. So he wrote her a hasty note before he left, leaving it where he knew she would probably find it: in the kitchen.

Once that was done, he apologized and said goodbye to Hiroshi and his mate, who was feeding an agitated child, and hurried out of the temple. The sky was gray, just starting to light up, and the wind had picked up slightly, making it feel colder than it actually was.

It didn't bother him much. At the very least it would help him wake up on his way home. Hopefully, he'd have time to pick up a card for Yukina sometime today. He would only be working part of the day today, but he needed time to get back to get to Genkai's as well.

He was suddenly always pressed for time; it wasn't an unusual feeling; he had felt that way when he had still been in school, still out saving the human race. He felt more like himself under the sudden pressure.

"Maybe Hiei was right… my life is too boring."

Shuichi made it inside as he heard the stirrings of his mother waking up. He hurried up the stairs as quietly as he could, and closed the door to his room as he heard another open. He waited, but the footsteps passed and continued down the stairs.

Chalking up another success on his part, he waited a few more minutes before walking to the bathroom to take a shower. The water usually lulled him into one of his musing periods but this morning he didn't think of much of anything, only fleeting ideas and memories, before they were washed away.

He barely registered his mother's hello, and gave her a puzzled look when she pressed a hand to his forehead. "Are you sure you're all right Shuichi? You've been acting strangely lately. Are you sure you're not sick?"

"Mother, I'm all right, really," he said, smiling. "There's nothing to worry about."

She regarded him with a skeptical look. "You really do worry me Shuichi. You used to act like it before but I thought it was only because of school. Is something bothering you?"

Shuichi let out a quiet sigh. Sometimes his mother's concern was trying. "Not exactly. It's just my friend-"

"Oh, did something bad happen?"

He shook his head. "No, she's all right."

Shiori quirked an eyebrow when she realized the friend was a girl. She gave her son a good look over, before smiling faintly. "Maybe you are sick," she said slyly. She laughed at Shuichi's puzzled expression. "What's your friend like?"

"What? She's…" he hesitated, frowning. "She's hard to describe. Sometimes I don't know what to think about her… but she looks nice when she's angry," he muttered absently. He bit his lip slightly. He kept running closer to a cliff every time he spoke. He'd trip over his own feet and topple over at this rate.

Shiori laughed again. "You shouldn't be making her angry Shuichi." She patted his arm. "But I'm starting to think that you're just a little lovesick, hm?"

Shuichi flushed slightly, embarrassed that his mother had even gotten on the subject. The thought of being in love was still a humiliating idea for him. "I wouldn't call it lovesick."

But Shiori only hummed and continued making breakfast while Shuichi sat down and cast a thoughtful look to the table. Was Rika really that hard to describe? And was lovesick really too far off of a description? From what he understood about it, it wasn't necessarily being in love. It was only the excitement from the first few days. Girls usually giggled over pictures of their crushes when they were lovesick, but it never amounted to anything.

Maybe it was a bad omen, that he would lose the game. Lose his chance to have Rika to himself.

He was pulled from his thoughts when a plate of food was put in his view. He glanced up as his mother sat down, giving him a worried look. "Are things not going well between you two, is that it?"

Damn mother's intuition. Damn it to hell.

Shuichi sighed, and nodded despite himself. He couldn't bring himself to lie to his mother all the time. Shiori frowned, urging him to eat while she sat and thought.

"Well, I suppose that would explain why we've never met her. Is there a reason why things aren't going well? Did you offend her?"

Yes. "Not really. She's… she's determined not to fall for anyone. I don't know why. So she spends most of her time turning down my advances," he muttered. Shiori only smiled.

"You'll get her eventually. Keep eating though, you need to eat before you start your day," she reminded. Shuichi sighed, but did as he was told, while Shiori stood and began getting Hatanaka's plate ready.

Shiori made no more mention of her son's relationship problems that morning. Shuichi supposed it was some sort of confidentiality policy that came with being a mother. But either way, he was grateful. He was embarrassed enough that he had talked about it at all.

He left for work with Hatanaka that morning, caught in the awkward silence that comes when you don't know much about the person you're standing next to. That wasn't to say that Hatanaka didn't make an effort. But he wasn't used to his stepson's guarded personality, and it was a bit off-putting.

It was for that reason that they were both relieved when they finally arrived at work. They wouldn't have to actually talk to each other for a long time.

This, of course, left Shuichi free to think about other things. But as time went on, he found it was hard to keep the thoughts in one place. He would think about Yukina's birthday, but then start thinking about Rika. His thoughts continued to jumble themselves, so by the end of his workday he was highly agitated and happy to leave.

He completely forgot about Yukina's birthday card, and headed in the opposite direction, to Genkai's temple. The long walk seemed to relax whatever irritation he had been feeling, and by the time he made it to the top of the stairs, he felt he had forgotten everything.

"You come by a lot, don't you?" Hiroshi frowned at him. "When an actual threat shows up, I won't check because I'll think it's you."

"I'm sorry Hiroshi, I don't mean to be a bother," he said automatically. Hiroshi sighed as he turned and headed back inside. Shuichi hesitated, before following after him.

Hiroshi turned down a hallway and continued on, but Shuichi went to the kitchen. He smiled slightly. Rika was folding the note between her fingers, looking out the window, a plate of finished lunch in front of her. Well, mostly finished. She picked up the last piece and ate it as she looked at him.

"Well… according to this, you were supposed to show up twenty minutes ago. You're lucky I have nothing else to do today," she said simply. Shuichi sat down across from her, humming a bit.

"I walked slower than usual."

"Right. Why am I waiting anyway? Do you have more feathers to give me?"

Shuichi laughed slightly, glancing down. She was wearing the necklace, the feather resting against her chest. Above that was her necklace, red and rounded, and above that was the collar. So she liked it enough to wear it.

"No, I don't have anymore feathers. Did you want more?"

She made a face. "I have enough to be a bird if I wanted. I think I'm done with feathers." She paused, eyeing him with a frown. "What's wrong with you? You look off."

He blinked. Maybe it wasn't just mother's intuition. He could only shrug as she moved closer, staring at him. "You look tired," she concluded finally. "I've seen that look before, even if it's on a different face. It's a little early to be hibernating, isn't it?"

Well, that made sense. "It's not a bad thing to get a head start," he said simply. Rika rolled her eyes. "Everything that's been going on has been rather exhausting," he said, frowning a bit. She nodded, happier with that answer.

"Then go to sleep."

He was tempted, but he remembered that he had a task that he was supposed to have done a while ago. "I can't. I was supposed to get something for a friend. It's her birthday."

"You humans, really."

"She's a demon."

Rika paused, looking at him with interest. It wasn't typical of demons to celebrate their birthdays. Most of them didn't even notice when it passed.

"A friend insisted she celebrate it," he explained. She tilted her head, apparently thinking this over, before a frown crossed her face. It was an odd look, but he recognized it well enough. Something had bothered her.

"What kind of friend is she?" she asked suddenly. There was an edge in her voice that Shuichi hadn't really expected. Maybe he'd made more progress than he had originally thought.

"Only a friend. As nice as she is I've never had interest in advancing the relationship. She's already called for by a human anyway… though I'm sure I could challenge a human without much of a problem."

That answer didn't seem to be the one she was looking for. "So you've thought about it?"

Shuichi sighed, deciding he needed to stop talking so much. He shook his head. "No, I've never even considered it."

There was a long moment of silence, and Rika finally nodded. "Well, what were you supposed to get?"

"Humans usually give cards to each other on birthdays, with good wishes for them inside. I haven't had time to get her one yet, and I can't go to her party with nothing. It's rude," he explained.

"Is she planning on becoming human herself?" she asked disdainfully. Apparently she didn't see the appeal of the tradition. Shuichi frowned at her, sighing.

"Really, Rika."

"And she's in a relationship with a human too, isn't she? He's only going to die, that's all humans can do."

"I'm human."

Rika eyed him, almost looking sad. "I know." She looked down, before looking at him again. "But I've heard about you from Yomi, you have more than just a normal human body. Maybe you'll live as long as a demon."

The slight eagerness in her voice worried him. Had Rika always been fond of him somehow? Maybe she was becoming more open now that she knew he wasn't plotting anything against her. Because he wasn't forcing himself on her as he had done before.

But then why was she insisting on prolonging this game?

"Maybe you should come with me Rika," he said finally, hoping to change the topic. "Only to see what it's like, I don't plan on staying long."

She sighed, not looking very eager. "I'm not really a party person."

"It's more of a small gathering."

"…How long do I have to be there?"

"Can you try for half an hour?"

"I guess… but if it's that unbearable, I'll leave."

Shuichi nodded, glad that she had agreed to come at all. Hopefully this would prove to be a chance to redeem himself, instead of digging a deeper grave. But judging by Rika's expression, she seemed to be pleased with being included in his life.

Maybe the game wouldn't last as long as he had thought.

* * *

_I have no idea what I'm doing. Or what I've done. Anyone that finds a thread of thought in here, let me know, and congratulations. Ha. Ooooh, what the hell am I doing...  
_


	10. Chapter 10

_**So it's been a while. **And it's mostly because I was fussing over this chapter for... forever. I don't even have time to look up lyrics, so maybe at some point I'll go back and add lyrics to the chapters that don't have them. This chapter was going to be a lot longer, but that was the part I wasn't satisfied with, so I cut it out and went back to the original end I had for it. I think I ended up taking out a whole page of crap.  
_

* * *

_**Seams **_

_Ten_

Rika's edge seemed to have worn off by the time they had walked back to town, looking for a card. She didn't exactly help, but she read the cards quietly while Shuichi searched. She was, however a bit disgruntled when Shuichi had accidentally mentioned he should have taken the train, because it would have saved time.

"Well, you should have thought about that before we walked for an hour," she said irritably. Shuichi knew she wasn't a lazy person, but if there was an easier way, she'd prefer it.

But she got over her annoyance when he bought her food.

And with her happily eating outside the store, Shuichi found a card for Yukina. And bought the other things he'd need for tomorrow. He wanted to get this shopping trip done in one sweep; rushing around every morning wasn't something he felt like doing. It was more stressful than it was worth.

When he left the store, Rika had finished eating and was staring down a dog that someone had tied up outside. "I'm finished," Shuichi said, drawing her attention away from the dog.

"How hard is it to pick out a piece of paper anyway?" she questioned. They were walking down the street now, headed for Kuwabara's. She still didn't understand why he was doing all of this. "It's completely unnecessary."

"Sometimes it's good to do unnecessary things," Shuichi replied calmly. "I have to drop something off at my house first, before we go."

"Of course you do. Do you ever stop going places?"

Shuichi raised his eyebrows, but made no reply to that. The answer was obviously no; he never really did stop going places. But for some reason that answer wasn't what he wanted to hear himself say. Who would want to be with someone that was never around?

The stop at his house yielded some curiosity, especially when younger Shuichi caught sight of Rika. Bursting with questions, he fired off as many questions as he could while his older brother went to his room, dropped off his bag of things, and walked back downstairs.

"Are you in a hurry Shuichi? You could invite her in. We'd like to meet her," Shiori said before he could make it out the front door. She smiled as her son stared at her, looking trapped, before his gaze wandered to the clock. He licked his lips slightly, sighing.

"No, I'm not in a hurry."

"Well good," Shiori said brightly. "Hatanaka's out back, but he hasn't been out there long. I'm sure he'd like to meet her too. Well? Go on and bring her inside. It's rude to leave a guest waiting like that."

Shuichi hesitated, but turned and walked outside. Rika raised an eyebrow when she caught his expression. He looked slightly horrified, and before she could even question why, he was muttering an invitation into his home.

"My family wants to meet you," he said, glancing over his shoulder. His stepbrother was peering out window at them, but disappeared when he was caught. Shuichi sighed, turning his attention back to Rika. She didn't look pleased.

"I agreed to go to a party, not to meeting your family," she said calmly.

"I didn't plan this Rika, trust me. I'd rather be leaving now."

"So why don't you?"

"I just… I can't. This won't take long, they know I have somewhere to be, I told them that."

"Apparently they don't think you're in much of a hurry."

Shuichi frowned, waiting as Rika tilted her head, looking at the house. "Not for long."

"Not for long," Shuichi agreed, before turning and leading her inside. Younger Shuichi was there to greet them, firing off more questions that Rika carefully avoided by giving intense concentration to the process of slipping her shoes off and putting them away like the others had.

He hadn't noticed before, but he was glad for it; she wasn't wearing her usual outfit. Instead of the dress she preferred to wear she was wearing cloth capris and a tee shirt. He wasn't sure where she had found the clothes, but that was the last thing on his mind.

"Are those tattoos?"

Rika hesitated, but nodded slightly. This would be her first lie of the evening.

"Didn't it hurt, getting them there?"

"Not really."

"…They look nice."

"Thank you."

Shuichi bit back a sigh. The questions weren't exactly polite, but Rika didn't seem to mind. Her definition of polite was different from a human's. "Shuichi, don't ask her all of this now. She's barely inside."

"Oh, right. I'm sorry," he said backing up so they could get out of the doorway. Rika was casting him a curious look.

"Coincidence," Shuichi said, answering the unasked question about their names, since his younger brother was being shooed out of the way before he knocked the drinks over. Shiori smiled at Rika, not in the least bit deterred by the markings on her face. But Shuichi knew she'd be asking about them later. At least his step-father was no where to be seen.

"I think I've heard about you a few times," Shiori said lightly, setting the drinks on the table in the living room. "But I'm glad to finally be able to meet you. I'm Shiori Minamino, Shuichi's mother. Both of them," she added, inclining her head slightly.

Rika faltered. "Ah… Rika," she muttered, inclining her head as well. She seemed to be lost. She had no second name to give. But Shiori didn't press the subject, and her silence stopped younger Shuichi's questioning. Her response had been polite, even if she hadn't given her full name.

"Sit down where ever you like. I know this was all a bit out of the blue," Shiori said, sitting in a chair. Rika and Shuichi numbly dropped down on the couch, and were soon joined by younger Shuichi, who sat by his brother.

Once everyone had something to drink, Shiori smiled. "It really is nice to meet you Rika."

"You too," she muttered, gripping her glass. It was filled with lemonade, but Rika hadn't even glanced at it.

"Shuichi's only mentioned you a few times, so… I'd like to hear more about you. Do you live nearby?"

"It's about an hour if you walk quickly."

"That far?"

"It's a… an old house, out in the middle of nowhere. To get away from the city," Rika said, looking to Shuichi. He glanced at her, offering a small smile. She finally took a drink of her lemonade.

"Oh, it must be nice," Shiori said wistfully. "Do you live there with your family?"

"No, it's just me."

"Oh but you look so young."

"Well they… they travel a lot, my parents. So, it's not really just me, but I'm usually in the house alone." She paused, and Shuichi could tell she was trying to figure something out. "I'm eighteen. I turned eighteen in the winter."

It was some haphazard math, but Shuichi didn't say anything. He was going to be nineteen soon enough as well, so it was probably better if they were close in age. But now he knew her birthday was in the winter.

Shiori smiled. "And you don't mind them traveling? What do they do?"

Rika stared for a moment, before spotting a picture. She glanced at Shuichi who nodded slightly. "Photographers. They travel to take pictures of things."

Shuichi smirked again, trying not to laugh. Rika looked ready to smash her head into the wall. But Shiori passed off the hesitant and messy speaking as nerves. She looked to her son as he stifled a laugh, Rika gripping his knee with a frown.

"That seems like an exciting job to have," Shiori said, smiling at them.

"Yes, very exciting," Shuichi said lightly.

"So they say," Rika grumbled, tightening her grip. She tensed when Shuichi placed a hand over hers to carefully dislodge the painful grip.

"Those are real tattoos, mom," younger Shuichi said suddenly. Everyone paused and Shiori raised her eyebrows slightly. She turned her attention back to the teens holding hands, endearingly enough.

"Well, they're rather attractive. Like beauty marks," Shiori said simply. "You're not hungry are you?" she asked, watching Rika disengage her hand from Shuichi's, and taking a long drink of her lemonade.

"No," she breathed. "No, I'm all right, thank you."

"We should be going, actually," Shuichi said, looking at the clock as he rose from his seat. Rika automatically rose with him. "You can put my glass in the fridge, if that's okay Mother. I'll drink it later."

"Of course. It was very nice to finally meet you Rika," Shiori said pleasantly, standing up and inclining her head again. Rika silently returned the gesture, looking anxious to leave, which Shuichi allowed; leading her back to the door, he ignored his brother's questioning on whether Rika would make another appearance.

"I'll be back a little late, so you don't have to stay up," Shuichi said, pulling on his shoes. "I have my key."

"All right Shuichi. You two have a nice time," his mother replied. Shuichi nodded, stopping his guest from bolting out the door by putting a hand on her shoulder. He offered another smile, before walking out the door with her, closing it carefully behind them.

"I hate you."

"What? I'm sorry for laughing, if that's what this is about."

"For putting me through that. It was embarrassing."

"Well… I liked some parts of it," Shuichi muttered, lowering his hand to grasp hers. She tensed again, as if debating on yanking her hand away. But she finally only pursed her lips slightly, adjusting her grip.

Smiling slightly, Shuichi basked in all his silent glory as they walked down the street. There was definitely something happening, it wasn't a dead grip, and he was sure Rika could feel it too, even though she hadn't moved any closer to him.

But at least their hands weren't sweaty. He was sure Rika would have spoken up about that, ruining what little moment there was. Now he knew why normal human teenagers worried about something like that.

"Did you remember the card?" Rika grumbled suddenly. They paused in their steps, and Rika sighed. "I'll wait."

Shuichi dropped her hand, letting out an exasperated sigh as he turned and jogged back down the block. He hadn't expected that he would be the one ruining the moment.

* * *

**_Can we all keep in mind that Shuichi has lived practically 18 years at this point as a human? In a happy, normal life with a loving mother? _**_Thanks, 'cause that'll cut back on 'OOC!' comments I might have to shoot down. Think about the situations people. Also, the only reason I've been having trouble is because I'm not happy with my characterizations of Yusuke and Kuwabara. Or any of those other characters, actually._

_**Typical that the woman would remember the card, even if she didn't care about it. Lol.**_


	11. Chapter 11

_**This did not go the way I expected. **But I like it just the same, haha. I think it's a lot better than what I originally planned. I'm sure some people will really like this chapter. I would have added more, but six pages seems like enough to me. I think I was really inspired to get this done because I started re-reading The Best Defense by JoIsBishMyoga. Her characterizations of all of the characters are amazing.  
_

* * *

_**Seams**_

_Eleven_

Rika had been waiting patiently for Shuichi's return, which admittedly didn't take very long at all. He had left the card in an easy place to reach, and only had to sign it and slip it into the envelope before he left.

But even that short amount of time had allowed that brief spark to wane leaving the usual, tense, and awkward feeling that seemed to surround both of them more often than not. Shuichi made no effort to recapture her hand, and Rika showed no desire for it.

The moment had passed.

The walk to Kuwabara's never took very long, and as they got closer, Rika moved closer to Shuichi. He wasn't quite sure why she was on edge, but she had always been a little paranoid. It could have had something to do with that.

"Why the hell are you putting them there?"

"What's wrong with it, huh? It looks just as good."

"No one will be out here."

"You don't know that, Urameshi."

The petty argument didn't really surprise Shuichi. He would have been more bothered if the two friends weren't badgering each other. Rika, however, wasn't impressed, and that in turn bothered Shuichi. They were just balloons, after all. Why argue about them?

But the two arguing stopped when they caught sight of the red hair, and both grinned, waving him over. "Hey, Kurama! 'Bout time you showed up!"

"Last one like always," Yusuke said, smirking as he took the lapse in concentration on Kuwabara's part as an opportunity to snag the balloons and slip back inside.

"Yusuke kept sayin' you weren't gonna show up. Shows what he knows," Kuwabara said. His voice was still raspy, one that was hard to get used to, and Shuichi noticed that Rika was resisting a cringe. "Eh? Is this the girl Urameshi was talkin' 'bout? The girl outta town?"

Kuwabara bent slightly at the waist to peer at her curiously, and Shuichi had to put a hand on Rika's shoulder to stop any sudden impulses with bad results.

"This is Rika. And yes, it's probably the same girl," he said lightly.

Straightening again, Kuwabara grinned at her. "Well it's nice to meet you, an' all. We don't get much about Kurama's life, ya know."

There was a pause, before Rika finally spoke. "Well, who are you?"

Kuwabara blinked, puzzled, before laughing weakly. "Oh, right. I'm Kazuma Kuwabara."

Rika didn't seem impressed. "The human who's throwing this party, right?"

Nodding, Shuichi watched as Kuwabara became weary, uncomfortable under Rika's scrutiny. She looked like she was ready to circle him like a vulture, but stayed where she was. After carefully looking him up and down, she pursed her lips.

"You're not as weak as the rest of the humans I've seen."

Relieved, he grinned, his pride returning full force. "Well, I _am _pretty strong. I even fought in the Dark Tournament." He paused, glancing at Shuichi, who had remained silent through this introduction. "But Kurama helped me a lot," he admitted.

Shuichi granted him with a faint smile, before holding up the card. "I suppose you have a place for things like this?" he asked. Kuwabara blinked, before apparently remembering they were at a party.

"Oh! Yeah, I do. Come on inside-" He paused, again, looking at the side of the door where the balloons had been. "Hey! Urameshi!"

Rika stood outside with Shuichi for a few more moments, watching Kuwabara disappear inside. "They're just balloons," she murmured.

"I know. It's nothing serious. It's just how they've always been with each other," Shuichi explained, leading her inside and closing the door behind them. He was greeted with surprised and pleased voices, which turned to curiosity when they noticed Rika.

Keiko approached them first. "Yusuke couldn't keep his big mouth shut," she explained, watching as the new arrivals carefully removed their shoes. "Everyone heard about…"

"Rika."

"Rika, but we weren't sure if we should take Yusuke's word on everything. It's nice to meet you Rika," she said, switching gears. "I'm Keiko Yukimura. Yusuke's… relationship."

Shuichi looked at Keiko curiously, but she waved her hand. Apparently it wasn't anything bad, so he pushed it out of mind. Rika was standing awkwardly, before she carefully slipped her arms around one of his own. Her grip wasn't loving, but tight and nervous.

"Come on, I think everyone else went out back, but we can sit in here for a while," Keiko announced, falling into the role of hostess rather easily. She led them into Kuwabara's living room, and gestured to the couch. The newly conjoined guests sat down.

"Have you been here long Rika?"

Shuichi watched as Keiko fiddled with a small plate of food, and felt Rika shift beside him. Keiko's tone was nothing but pleasant and inviting; Rika's grip loosened slightly, and Shuichi felt the blood return to his lower arm.

"Only a few days."

"Sorry about Yusuke," Keiko said simply, with little preamble. "And Kuwabara. They're a hassle sometimes. I'd stay in here," she added, glancing at Shuichi. "Everyone else is going to be out back for awhile.

Shuichi nodded. "I'm sure we'll be out soon."

Keiko smiled and stood, making her retreat out of the living room and out of sight. Rika released her grip entirely; refusing to look at him, she hesitantly grabbed a piece of food and ate it. She seemed pleased with the result, because she took another piece.

"These humans…" Rika hesitated, before trailing off entirely. He could see the gears starting already, a troubled frown on her face. She was rethinking, considering what she had seen, and possibly arguing with herself.

"I figured their food would have swayed you a long time ago," Shuichi said finally, smiling. Rika pursed her lips, the gears halting.

"Well, your food sure formed my opinions about you," she grumbled. This could be loosely translated to: as if I would base something like that on something as stupid as food. Even though yours was awful and still worth mockery.

"We can leave early," he offered finally. He could tell that Rika was becoming increasingly uncomfortable. Now that he thought about it, he had never really seen her around many people. The one time she had been she had hung so far back that he had to drag her to the front. Indirectly, this caused the whole 'knife-through-the-head' incident for one unlucky demon.

And the trip here had been spent with her carefully dodging people and attempts to make herself smaller so she wouldn't be brushed against. He was starting to peg her as unusually paranoid. Even Hiei wasn't that bad.

He wasn't sure why he had never noticed it before. And quite suddenly he was silently lamenting. He must have put her through hell back then. No wonder she wanted nothing to do with him. And how hard was this for her now?

But then his logic came back. It wasn't uncommon for female demons to be skittish. It was one thing they had in common with human women, who could be just as socially awkward.

Reassured, he relaxed, leaning back and enjoying the couch for once. Rika had only shrugged in reply to his question, continuing to pick at the food.

"I have nothing else to do today."

"No, I suppose you don't."

"And I smell alcohol."

That statement caught him a bit off guard. He hadn't pegged Rika as a drinker either.

"And watching drunks is something that makes me feel at home," she added, holding back a smile. "Though I'm not sure I'm in the mood," she said with a sigh. She was well on her way to clearing off the plate of food.

Shuichi briefly worried she'd be putting on weight soon, which would cause more moodiness on her part. That seemed to be the typical female reaction to weight of any type. Of course, he wouldn't voice his concerns. He'd just find a way to keep her moving around more often.

This thought led to the quick clamping down on other thoughts, before they wandered into undesired territory.

There was silence in the living room now, and they could hear the others outside; it sounded like the majority of the noise was coming from Yusuke and Kuwabara, which was typical. He couldn't tell if they were arguing or actually enjoying themselves, but Shuichi could easily picture what the scene must have looked like.

"We should at least say hello to the others."

"You can."

"Rika… you don't have to talk to them, but at least acknowledge their presence."

Another bout of silence, before Rika shifted, grabbing more food. She seemed to be getting agitated. "Just say hello?"

"That's all you have to do. No one's expecting you to start a conversation."

"Fine. Fine, but I don't want to stay too long," she said stubbornly.

Shuichi sat, feeling a bit amused. Two hours had already passed, and after subtly slipping a drink in Rika's hands about an hour ago, she had calmed down enough to sit placidly and talk to the others if the situation called for it.

Yusuke and Kuwabara were already too far-gone to be bothered with, and for the most part the others just humored them, and made sure they didn't destroy anything. Shuichi felt a bit sorry for Keiko, who was watching like a hawk. But she seemed to be in her element, sitting rather comfortably next to Yukina and Shizuru.

Botan would have been joining them, if she hadn't had to leave early.

But the night progressed, and Shuichi watched as Shizuru and Keiko became lax in their sentry duties. But alcohol does that to people. So he was given the responsibility of talking to Yukina, which the ice maiden seemed to appreciate.

"I wish Hiei had come, but now I can see why he wouldn't have wanted to stay. He doesn't like this type of fun," she said, looking at the others who were talking loudly and laughing. Rika was still sitting quietly, gaze fixed on some far off place in the darkened sky.

"No, he doesn't," he said, before smirking slightly. "But I think he's going to make it up to you."

Yukina looked at him, a bit surprised, before smiling. She didn't ask how. She recognized the sly look on his face, so knew her questions wouldn't yield many answers. "I suppose I should be on the lookout then," she said lightly.

Shuichi smiled, apparently pleased with the response. He blinked, tensing slightly as he felt Rika lean against him, her head on his shoulder. She didn't look at him, her eyes never left the place in the distance, but she seemed comfortable where she was.

Yukina smiled faintly, looking back at the others, who Yusuke was leading in a messy song of happy birthday for the third time. "I hope they'll be all right in the morning," she said, frowning slightly.

"I'm sure they will be," Shuichi said absently, his hands gripping the arms of the chair. Rika had turned, pressing her face against his neck before nuzzling the area affectionately, her lips ghosting over his pulse. He let out a quiet breath as her hands began to wander. This had to stop.

He stood carefully, disengaging her. She looked puzzled, but not hurt and stood up as well. "Are we leaving?" she murmured. Her eyes were glazed, no longer alert. Shuichi nodded, making sure she'd be okay standing before turning to Yukina.

She smiled at him. "It's all right, I understand. Thank you for coming, and for the card. It was very nice," she said, standing as well. She glanced at the others, before leading the two inside. Ever the polite hostess, she waited by the door as they pulled on their shoes.

"I'll probably be seeing you soon," Shuichi said, smiling faintly. Yukina nodded.

"Be safe," she said, holding the door open as they left. Shuichi smiled, waving, before leading Rika down the street. Yukina tilted her head, before closing the door and disappearing inside.

"Kurama… I don't think I feel well," Rika said absently, leaning against him again. Shuichi bit his lip for a moment, making sure to hold her up and ignore her wandering hands. He shouldn't have given her a drink, or let her drink the ones that followed; if she remembered any of this she'd be furious and think he had tried to take advantage of her.

"Kurama, do you remember Yoshiro?" she asked suddenly.

"Yes."

Rika only hummed a bit, apparently not really intending on continuing with the topic. She stopped suddenly, forcing Shuichi to stop with her. He was worried she would be sick here, but she only hugged him, her arms around his neck.

"You're such a good boy now," she murmured, stroking his hair. Shuichi frowned, remembering what she had said not long ago, her disappointed expression.

_You're a child in this body._

He was suddenly nervous. Had he never really been winning at all? He quickly wrapped his arms around her, sighing. "A good boy? You sound like my mother," he said lightly. Rika hummed tightening her hold slightly.

"I'm hungry. And my head hurts now, Kurama," she muttered, looking at him. She looked dazed and lethargic… and incredibly tempting. Shuichi looked down, letting out a slow breath.

"We'll go back to the temple. I'll stay with you, but we have to find a bus stop first. I don't want to make you walk all the way back."

"Oh…" she closed her eyes slightly, kissing his cheek. "I don't even know you anymore," she whispered. Shuichi bit his lip, before guiding her down the street.

He wasn't sure if this had worked in his favor, or had just guaranteed his loss.

* * *

_For some reason I kept thinking of Moulin Rouge when I wrote this. That's what I get when I write this while we're watching it in class.  
_


	12. Chapter 12

_**This one took me forever. **And it's not really that long. I have no idea what I was doing, but it's a lot better than another half assed attempt I tried earlier on. So, this is what you get. I'm not entirely happy with everything, but I think it's good enough to post. _

_Have fun._

**The lyrics are from "Don't You Know Who I Think I Am?" by Fall Out Boy**

* * *

_**Seams**_

_Twelve_

_ "Penny for your thoughts but a dollar for your insight..."_

The trip back to the temple was longer than usual, and Shuichi finally had to give in and take a bus the rest of the way there. Rika fell asleep the minute they sat down, curled up against him; out like a light. That's what Hatanaka often said.

The other passengers on the bus weren't any different than they were. Tired, dazed and in one case, lost, it seemed more like the bus was transporting people to be judged by Enma himself.

While Rika's hands had stilled in her sleep, and she was no longer babbling about things that had already happened, Shuichi wished she were awake. Mostly because when the bus had stopped, he couldn't wake her up. So now he was carrying her for the rest of the way. She wasn't really obscenely heavy, but he wasn't looking forward to the trip up the stairs.

And like he had expected, Hiroshi hadn't been looking forward to their reappearance (which meant the continued late night visits in his mind). He was waiting sullenly at the top of the stairs, the look of exasperation on his face unmistakable when he realized who it was.

Shuichi had barely made it to the top before Hiroshi simply turned and walked back into the temple. A bit perturbed by the lack of greeting, Shuichi continued on, spotting Hiroshi's retreat around a corner.

"Stop moving so much," Rika grumbled, stirring out of her sleep. Shuichi blinked, before hurrying to her room. He didn't want her to snap at him, or worse make him drop her. That wouldn't earn him any points in all of this.

"Hey, are you listening?" she snapped, hitting his chest. He sighed, setting her down on her bed. She immediately quieted, rubbing her forehead as she sighed. "It's late," she said finally. "Go to bed."

Shuichi hesitated, looking at her. She looked agitated, though it seemed it was because her head was starting to bother her. At least, that's what he guessed, since she kept rubbing her forehead and sighing.

"I can make you feel better."

"Is that a suggestion that I should be refusing?"

"No, I mean your head."

"Oh… oh, yes, please do that," she grumbled, closing her eyes. Shuichi nodded, ignoring the grip on his sleeve as he grew a tiny fruit from a seed he had taken out of his hair. "Come on, I know you can grow those things faster than that."

"Relax Rika, getting agitated isn't going to help your head," he replied calmly. She gave him an annoyed look, but stayed quiet, watching carefully until the fruit was done. It was only about the size of a grape, and she ate it without complaint.

Shuichi was a bit surprised by that; he had gotten used to her being skeptical about everything he gave her. Rika sighed, putting a hand on her forehead as she closed her eyes again.

"You're such a jerk, you should have stopped me," she snapped finally. "I hate drinking that much."

"So why didn't you stop yourself?"

"…I lost count. Look, don't make it seem like it's all my fault. You played a hand in all of this too." Rika paused, eyeing him. "I didn't do that much right?"

"No. You sat and stared at the sky."

"What is that?"

"What? The sky?"

"You really think I'm that stupid?" she asked disdainfully. "That noise."

Shuichi blinked, frowning as he listened. The noise was familiar to him; soft and subdued, and very consistent.

"It's a cricket. Rika is something-"

"No. Would you go to bed? Please?"

Shuichi frowned, looking down at her as she closed her eyes, frowning even more as he carefully studied her expression. It looked almost as if she was in pain, but what he had given her would have gotten rid of any physical problems.

Something was bothering her. She just wasn't going to admit it. He'd have to be persistent about this.

Reaching out, he put a hand on the top of her head, carefully avoiding the horns; he didn't need to accidentally impale himself because he was being careless. Rika made a sound of annoyance, most likely because he hadn't done what he had been told.

"Whether or not this body is younger than you, it doesn't necessarily mean I'll listen. You should know that by now," Shuichi muttered.

"Well maybe you could humor me."

"Rika, something is bothering you, and I want to know what it is. What are you thinking about?"

She pushed his hand away, the agitation filling the room with an uncomfortable energy. For most it would have been enough to drive them out of the room. But Shuichi, when he wanted to be, could be incredibly stubborn.

"Are you still not feeling well?"

This suggestion was met with silence.

"…Is it because you remembered something?"

She pursed her lips, turning away from him.

"Did you remember Yoshiro?" he muttered, watching her carefully. She seemed to shrink in on herself. "Do you want to talk about it? You never did."

"No, I don't want to talk about it! It's a little late for that," she snapped, moving to face him. "It's almost twenty years too late. Now I told you to go to bed and leave me alone, so why don't you do it?"

"Rika, I want to make things better-"

"Then get out! You just want to make yourself look better so I'll stay with you. Everything you do is for yourself Youko, and I know you haven't changed. This whole… bet, was for you. I didn't want this! I would never want this!"

Shuichi stayed quiet, shocked into silence. Rika had never really yelled at him like she had then; she was panting, trying to regain some control over herself, and her face was flushed with anger.

And she had used his old name.

He could easily take it as a sign that she was unwilling to pull herself from the past, or maybe the fact that she found him no different… but she had been angry. Anger often clouds the mind and causes the occasional slip of words.

That's what had happened.

Now he just needed to get control of the situation again.

"Rika… I really do want to make things better between us. Even if you don't choose to stay with me, I want to make up for what I did to you," he said, frowning. "I want to make things better for you."

"And to rid yourself of a guilty conscience," she said bitterly.

"Maybe. But that would take too long. I'm guilty of a lot of things Rika, not just this. So my main concern is you. There's still a chance to fix this, unlike my conscience."

"I'm not going to let you feel better about what happened."

"Rika, you can degrade me to the point that I wish I was dead. But at least let me make you feel better. I know you spoke to Yomi, and though I don't know what it was about it seems that it didn't help you as much as you thought it would. I can tell Rika, there's still plenty bothering you."

The room fell into silence, save for the cricket somewhere outside. Shuichi watched Rika carefully, feeling the shift from anger to annoyance and sadness. But the expression on her face told him that she was thinking about something, and thinking about it carefully.

Finally, she sighed. "I won't be able to sleep now," she said flatly.

Shuichi frowned. "I can give you something-"

"No. I don't need any of your fancy medicine for it… Kurama. I want to fight you. I want to see if I could have even stood a chance against you back then… to see if I could have done something about it," she muttered. Her eyes were glued to the blankets, as if she was embarrassed by her request. "That will help me feel a little better, knowing that."

He would have said yes immediately, if he hadn't remembered he was trying very hard to play the role of a normal human. He couldn't possibly fight her and keep up with that.

_Everything you do is for yourself Youko._

Rika was now looking at him expectantly. He'd prove her wrong. Not everything he did was for himself.

"All right. Let's go."

* * *

_**Don't expect an epic battle. You'll be severely disappointed if you do.  
**_


	13. Chapter 13

_**This is pretty short**. But it was one of those instinctive things where you know that you shouldn't write anymore. So think of this as a filler or transition chapter. Still pretty necessary in my book though. _

* * *

_**Seams**_

_Thirteen_

Shuichi stood, waiting patiently as he gazed at his watch. Rika had grumbled for a brief moment of respite, when she had realized she was still unsteady on her feet. It was almost one in the morning now, and by Shuichi's half-hearted calculations, she probably wouldn't get her coordination back completely for another hour. And he could tell that she was still drowsy.

Now that he thought about it, he hadn't really tracked how much she had actually drank. Maybe it would be longer than an hour.

Rika sat down in the grass with a defeated sigh, and he frowned, looking at her carefully. She hadn't been able to navigate very well on the trip out to this clearing, one that he was familiar with only because he had happened upon it once while he had been walking through the forest on a slow day. She had tripped several times actually, barely able to catch herself.

It was possible that this wasn't really the best idea, at least not now. It wouldn't be fair. It wouldn't prove anything.

He watched Rika struggle to her feet, and after looking at his watch again decided that this was enough. "Rika, I don't think this is going to be a fair fight. Not when you're like this."

"Shut up, there's nothing wrong with me. I can fight you just fine," she snapped.

"You can barely stand," Shuichi pointed out calmly. She scowled at him shaking her head slightly as she looked down. "We'll wait until you feel well enough to do this. I won't fight someone who's still in a battle with their drink."

This statement was met with silence, and Shuichi took it as a sign of submission. He walked over to her and took her arm, leading her back to the temple.

"I don't need your help, I'm not crippled."

"You nearly made yourself that way several times on the trip here. There's nothing to be ashamed about Rika. At least you weren't making a fool of yourself."

"I may as well have."

"Why, because you can't fight me? You would have been a fool if you had continued to try."

A small sigh was his response, but now that she had support he could feel Rika start to become a dead weight on his arm. He carefully straightened her as they continued to walk, and he become a bit worried when her head lolled to the side. But it was only for a moment, and she was looking ahead with a bleary gaze again.

Relief washed over him when he felt the familiar, even surface of the wooden planks of the temple floor; there was no chance of her getting her foot caught on anything here. He had been getting a bit fretful over the state of her ankle, especially after a particularly bad snag that had made her cry out.

He led her back to her room and helped her get herself settled. He was a bit surprised to find that she did have a set of clothes to sleep in, and while he had been given the chance to take advantage of the situation, he didn't. He merely held her waist to keep her steady and looked up at the ceiling.

She mumbled her thanks when he had helped her sit on the bed, and immediately flopped back, her eyes closing. He took the lapse in attention to crouch down and give her ankle a few furtive glances, using careful fingers to feel for any abnormality. He paused when he heard a giggle.

That was an abnormality.

He moved his fingers again, and looked at Rika's face; the giggles were coming from her. When he moved his fingers again, she jerked her foot away, sighing as the laughing subsided. She rolled over, the incident apparently having no real effect on her.

Shuichi sat back on his feet, looking a bit stunned. He wasn't sure why he was so surprised to find she was ticklish. Most living things were. And the more he thought about it, the more he realized it wasn't the thought that she was ticklish surprised him; the only way he would be surprised by someone being ticklish would be if it was Hiei.

It was the fact that he had never heard her laugh like that before. And the more the sorted through his memories, it seemed that he had never really heard her laugh at all. It had been an intimate, couple moment; it would have been, anyway, if they were actually a couple.

He immediately began wondering where else on her body this weakness was hiding, but reminded himself that he needed to get to sleep. _No_, he corrected. _I need to call home first_.

Genkai's temple had only one phone, and if he remembered right, she had gruffly told him once that it was no longer in service. It was for that reason he had finally bought a cell phone, and he was glad for it now. He waited in his room as the number went through, listened to the ring, and blinked in surprise when it stopped and the phone picked up.

"Shuichi?"

"Yes, Mother."

He heard a long breath of relief and wondered what had been going through her mind.

"I was worried something had happened. You usually call if you're going to stay out later than usual."

"I'm sorry, Mother. Rika got sick, I had to take her home."

"Oh. Is that where you are now? Does she live far away?"

"Yes. It's an hour walk."

He listened as Shiori hummed in thought. "I know I can trust you Shuichi," she said finally. "It's too late to be traveling around now, so stay there for tonight. I want you to get some sleep."

"All right, Mother."

"I know I can trust you," she said again. "Get some sleep, and take a bus back in the morning, please. A boy had stopped by here earlier and asked me to remind you that you had plans with him in the morning. If you're going to get any sleep and actually keep those plans you can't take an hour walk."

"Yes, Mother. Thank you for telling me. Sleep well."

Shuichi frowned as he hung up, setting the cell phone aside as he sat down on the bed.

Well, at least he knew she trusted him. Though, he had already known that. He sighed, slipping his shoes off, which he had neglected to do when he had walked into the temple. Rika's had fallen off.

He laid back, his head sinking into the pillow slightly while his eyes focused on the ceiling. He briefly thought he'd burn holes into the wood if he continued staring like that, and his eyes slowly drooped closed. But he didn't fall asleep right away.

His thoughts wandered, slipping past and over each other, organizing themselves. This is what usually kept him awake at night, until they finally lulled and settled enough for him to relax. He remembered, briefly, that he had to go back to Kuwabara's, with Yukina's gift, and stored that away for later.

He cast the rest aside, and shifted slightly, getting comfortable so he could sleep. He had the brief thought that he wouldn't be able to relax completely until this was all over, before sleep wrapped around him and dragged him down.

* * *

_**Ever have one those nights, where you're chillin' and not paying attention, and you look up and it's ten when you were supposed to be home at eight? **Your parents either call you, wondering where the hell you are, or you call them and get an earful about how they were worrying. Both options suck, but Shuichi's usually responsible, so Shiori wouldn't freak out too much. He's also nineteen, so..._

_Expect the next chapter to be the mysterious present, and the 'fight' between Rika and Shuichi. Dun dun duuun. _


	14. Chapter 14

_**It's storming right now. **It's been storming all week, actually, always at night. Anyway, sorry this took me so long. I had a lot of problems with it, and I'm not completely happy with every part, but I think people will be happy with it anyway. It's gotten to the point that I can't look at this chapter anymore. Ha.  
_

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_**Seams**_

_Fourteen_

"Fox, what the hell is this?"

Shuichi frowned, the harsh tone startling him awake as something was dumped onto the bed. He blearily opened his eyes, feeling the effects of waking up suddenly as his pulse pounded in his ears.

Hiei was glaring down at him, a vicious glare that he wasn't often on the receiving end of. Curiously, he looked down at the bed sheets, before sighing. Hiei was holding an empty bag, and littered on his bed were pinecones and bags of birdseed. A quick glance to the floor revealed a container that had rolled across the wood floor.

"This. Is your idea. Of a present?" Hiei hissed angrily, crumpling the bag in his fist. "Birdseed and pinecones!"

"And oatmeal," Shuichi supplied weakly. Hiei growled in irritation, the bag bursting into flame.

"Hiei, don't worry, I know what I'm doing," Shuichi said calmly, carefully getting out of bed and scooping up the container. "You wanted to bring her birds, and this will, I promise."

The fire demon's mood didn't improve, and he stalked off, leaving the remains of the bag on the floor. Shuichi frowned, carefully gathering the items back up. Hiei must have gone looking for him and saw the bag.

Hiei's curiosity and general disregard for other's privacy was proving to be more troublesome than he had thought it would. He'd have to be more firm with the demon and his kleptomaniac tendencies from now on. Not that Hiei would really appreciate the effort to make him a better person.

He walked out of his room at a brisk pace, finding another bag and dumping his items into it. He quickly straightened his clothes and ran his fingers through his hair, musing again on the benefits of shorter locks. His last step was to hastily write a note for Rika, and he was off, heading to a bus stop.

Hiei was no where to be seen, or sensed, so he assumed he had gone ahead of him. Which was probably a good thing or the bus might have caught on fire. That was a mess that he didn't need to deal with.

He waited patiently, glancing at his watch, before he heard the familiar sound of the bus approaching. The passengers on the bus were a bit different than what he had seen last night; older women and mothers with children, teenagers that were probably skipping school. He wasn't sure why they would bother today. Sunday wasn't a full day of school.

The trip continued, and Shuichi sat placidly with his bag, wondering about the people he was sitting with before the bus slowed to a stop and he got off. He walked the rest of the way to Kuwabara's, hoping that Hiei's mood wouldn't ruin everything.

But he was certain that no matter how angry he was, Hiei wouldn't want to ruin things for Yukina.

And he was using that as reassurance as he walked up to the front door and carefully knocked. He only had to wait a moment before the door opened, Yukina offering him a kind smile. "I didn't think you meant so soon."

"I hope you're not busy."

Yukina shook her head. "No, of course not. Come in. Hiei's here too, in the kitchen. He seemed a bit upset."

Shuichi had to bite back a sigh as he stepped in after Yukina, listening to the sound of the door closing behind him. He slipped off his shoes and walked forward, Yukina following before she smiled, looking at the bag in his arms with curiosity.

"What's this?"

He managed a sly smile, his only answer on their trip to the kitchen. Yukina didn't press for an answer, but the curious look didn't leave her face. Hiei looked at him from his place at the kitchen table, scowling as he eyed the bag with subdued hatred.

"I know that there aren't a lot of birds around here," he said simply, setting the bag down and fishing out all of the items. Yukina's look became skeptical, not entirely unlike Hiei's. "But I couldn't just buy you a bird feeder. So we can make them."

"Make them?" the curiosity rushed back into her eyes, looking at the items with new appreciation. A quick glance at Hiei proved that he seemed to be switching sides.

Shuichi nodded, smiling. "It's something I picked up along the way," he said, gesturing that she should sit down. He waited until she was seated before setting a large pinecone in front of her and another in front of Hiei.

He carefully explained the general process as he arranged everything they would need: something to mix the oatmeal and vegetable shortening in, vegetable shortening, something to put the birdseed in, knives to spread it on the pinecones.

"You mix these two together," he said, tapping the oatmeal and shortening. "And it will get sticky enough to hold birdseed to the pinecone. You hang them in trees with string when you're done."

"Oh… Kurama, we can make them now, can't we?" Yukina asked, finally looking eager. Shuichi nodded. "I'll find the string, for when we're done."

Yukina smiled, standing quickly and heading off to search. Shuichi waited, before smiling at Hiei.

"Bonding over pinecones. Only you would find this enjoyable."

"It will mean a lot to her Hiei."

Hiei scowled at him, eyeing the pinecone with distaste. When no further protests came forward, Shuichi guessed that things would be in the clear, and Yukina came back with string and scissors.

The moments passed with Yukina watching everything Shuichi did, possibly to store and retain the process for another time. Hiei, though not entirely interested, decided to feign that he was and watched as well, listening to the idle chatter the two others had picked up while tying string onto the pinecones.

It wasn't until she was carefully spreading the mixture over her own, large, pinecone that Yukina addressed Hiei. "Did you help Kurama with this, Hiei?" she asked politely, looking at him. He visibly tensed, nearly snapping his pinecone, before he nodded.

He kept his eyes trained on the table, trying to look engrossed in his work with the pinecone, but Shuichi could see the discomfort that came from Yukina's wide smile.

"Thank you Hiei. This is wonderful… it's almost relaxing," she muttered, setting the knife aside so she could roll the pinecone in birdseed. "And the birds will love it, I'm sure." She paused, looking at Hiei and managing to hold his gaze. Shuichi watched quietly as Hiei seemed to shrink away. "This was very thoughtful," Yukina said gently.

Hiei only nodded, his jaw clenched as he carefully set the knife aside. Shuichi hummed a bit as they smothered the pinecones in birdseed, coming away with large colorful spheres attached to string.

"Where should we hang them, Kurama?" Yukina asked curiously, holding her creation up.

Shuichi blinked, before standing up. "We'll have to look for a good place in a tree," he said, heading to the backyard. Hiei carefully stood up, following after his twin as they headed outside. Shuichi was carefully looking over each tree, and finally decided on a few good places to put them. He looked at Hiei smiling, which caused the demon to narrow his eyes.

A few unspoken words were exchanged, before Hiei sighed. "Here, Yukina," he murmured, holding his hand out. Yukina blinked, but handed over her pinecone before Hiei disappeared reappearing in a tree.

He was tying Yukina's pinecone carefully, making sure it wouldn't fall and that it would be easy for the birds to get to. His own pinecone was dangling precariously from his mouth, the string clamped between his lips.

Yukina watched, smiling faintly as he disappeared and reappeared in a different place, hanging up his own, before returning back to the ground. "Thank you Hiei. That's perfect," she said fondly, causing the fire demon more discomfort for the day then he was willing to put up with under normal circumstances. To cover himself, he gave a curt nod and grunted.

"And they'll definitely come?" Yukina asked, looking to Shuichi who was leisurely scaling a tree to hang up his own. He nodded confidently. Since everything about the pinecone was pretty much plant based, he could easily lure the birds and other animals by giving the pinecones a stronger scent.

"I wouldn't expect anything immediate, but they'll come." He paused, glancing at his watch. "But I should check in at home. I didn't make it back last night."

Yukina nodded and smiled with a simple joy that made Shuichi feel rather proud of himself. She seemed to hesitate, before looking at Hiei. "Hiei… can you help me make more?"

Hiei looked a bit startled, before frowning. "How many do you plan on putting in the trees?" he grumbled.

"Oh, not too many more. Please Hiei? I can't hang them myself."

Hiei glanced at Shuichi, who only smiled. He sighed, and gave Yukina a look of resignation. She looked pleased, before turning to Shuichi. "I'll –"

"That's all right Yukina, you don't have to show me out," he said, heading back inside as he inclined his head politely. She looked surprised, but nodded, turning her attention back to Hiei as Shuichi disappeared.

"Mother?"

"Oh Shuichi really, you could stop in once in awhile instead of using the phone."

Shuichi smiled wryly as he walked down the street, one hand in his pocket, his other holding the cell phone. He was headed back to Genkai's now, hoping that Rika had sobered up enough to fight, but not enough to change her mind.

"I know Mother, I'm sorry. Things keep coming up."

He listened to her sigh. "Dinner?"

"I hope so."

"Well, all right… call me, if you aren't going to make it," she said firmly.

"I will. I'll talk to you soon Mother," he said pleasantly, before hanging up and tucking the phone away. A frowned crossed his face as he continued his trip, running through how he thought this whole mess could turn out. There was a very slim chance she would win.

_But then what would happen after that? _

That was the only thing that was bothering him, the only scene he couldn't play out or figure. It didn't make him feel very good. Unknown elements never settled well with him.

It was all he could think about the entire trip back, and it had settled so uncomfortably in his stomach by the time he reached the stairs he felt too much like a teenager for his own good.

Rika, to his dismay, was sitting on the porch that wound itself around the temple, waiting. She didn't look any better than he felt, but there was a determination in her eyes that comforted him for some reason.

Never mind who he was fighting, or that anything could go wrong. Who cares what happened after? She wanted to fight him, to prove herself. That was appealing. That was unbearable. And if he was Yoko he would have been thinking about the sex that could come out of this.

Though, he was a teenager, so it was in the back of his mind.

She stood up when she spotted him, clenching her jaw as he walked over. They looked at each other in silence, before Shuichi gestured for her to follow him. They headed back to the clearing in silence. Everything was silent, except for her breathing.

Even but deep. She was trying to calm down.

He watched her as she broke away from him, circling the clearing until they were facing each other. He smiled slightly.

"Ready?"

"Yeah."

"Good."

He wasn't going to give her any chances, and he didn't. He immediately reached into his hair and pulled out his whip, lashing it out at her. He was holding back to some degree, because he didn't want to kill her.

And he never started a battle fully anyway.

His eyes tracked her movements as she darted away. She was fast, but he'd dealt with faster, so her movements seemed to be dreadfully slow. But when they locked eyes he recognized the look; she was waiting too.

He'd never seen Rika fight before. He wasn't even sure if it was something she did often. But she knew enough to wait and figure what your opponent might do. For some reason, he felt proud about that.

They skirted around each other for a few more minutes, testing and drawing back, before Shuichi finally decided that he knew enough. He felt himself return to his cold hearted roots as his eyes narrowed, his whip moving with precise intention.

Rika had to fall on the defensive, caught off guard as she desperately tried her best to keep away from the weapon. Shuichi smirked, continuing the game of cat and mouse before snapping his wrist back decisively.

Shrieking, Rika was pulled roughly off her feet, before she fell hard back on the ground. Shuichi frowned as he eyed the cut whip, before returning his attention to the culprit. He knew she'd have bruises starting. He also knew neither of them was close to tired, and he was anticipating a few of the wounds they would have after this.

The whip regained its lost appendage as he leapt back, carefully avoiding the blade of a knife. She continued after him, trying her best to get a hit in, but she wasn't fast enough. Shuichi wondered if she had been training at all when she nicked his arm.

He was surprised, but he smiled, lashing out at her again. The whip didn't wrap around her this time. It hit her middle, which sent her flying back and landing roughly against a tree.

For a moment, Shuichi was worried he had been too rough when she crumpled at the bottom of the tree. But then he remembered she was trying to prove herself and he wasn't supposed to hold back.

He went in for his second attack, and winced when it connected. The whip lifted her off the ground again, sending her flying before she landed on her back with a thud. She was still, and judging from her breathing was trying to get her wind back.

Shuichi walked over to her and lifted her up by the front of her dress. She wheezed, wincing, before coughing and doubling over as best she could. He set her on her feet before moving back.

Even when she couldn't breathe right she was still willing to try and hurt him. He had a nice cut on his face for his kindness. But that was fine. He abandoned the whip, stowing the seed back in his hair. He'd fight her hand to hand from now on.

Rika was caught off guard by the sudden change of pace, dropping the knife she had been wielding in favor for blocking a kick.

The fight, for Shuichi, continued in a flurry of punches and kicks before he finally tripped Rika up and had her pinned against a tree. They were both panting, and Shuichi could feel the sheen of sweat on his forehead, and see it on hers.

He blinked, licking his lips slightly. He became hyper aware of how close she was, felt her chest just slightly as it rose and fell with each breath. "I think I won," he said finally.

"Shut up," Rika muttered. They fell into silence, staring each other down. Perhaps it was the last stretch of the fight. But the fox in him wasn't going to let this all go without some sort of prize.

With that in mind, Shuichi carefully moved forward, catching Rika's lips with his own.

The spark flared violently back into existence.

* * *

**_That's _so_ cliché. _**

_But I couldn't resist. _


	15. Chapter 15

_**This took foreveeer. **But I'm pretty happy with it. Kind of. I can't tell, I'm pretty tired right now. And hungry. I still don't know what I'm doing with this. Hahahaha. _

_Also, for the people that were kind of disappointed in how anti-climactic it was in the last chapter, maybe this will cheer you up._

**The lyrics are from "Someone Must Get Hurt" by She Wants Revenge.**

* * *

_**Seams**_

_Fifteen_

"_Well, someone must get hurt and it won't be me…"_

The atmosphere seemed to become tense and shift, even though Rika didn't seem to be reacting badly; she hummed a bit, sliding her hands up to his chest. One continued to wander up to his shoulder as the kiss became more heated, pulling him closer.

"Kurama…" Rika frowned a bit as she pulled back slightly, looking at him with a small pout. He licked his lips slightly, waiting for her to continue, to tell him that he didn't need the whole month after all, he had already won.

She tilted her head, leaning forward as the hand on his shoulder wandered up to the back of his neck. Shuichi felt her breath along the side of his face, before she continued again.

"You didn't win."

He frowned in confusion, before pain ripped through his chest, causing him to cry out in shock as his body tensed.

What did she do? He felt a small twist of panic as he tried to judge what had happened. He absently lifted a hand to check, but found nothing there but Rika's hand, which she carefully pulled away.

Blood. Well. That narrowed the possibilities. He looked at her, but found himself unable to form the question.

Rika stared at him for a moment. "I stabbed you," she muttered. "I make them myself Kurama, it's not there anymore," she added when he searched again. She watched passively as Shuichi sat back with a heavy breath, wincing.

Had she gotten his heart? His mother was going to kill him.

"Dirty trick."

"Should have been expecting it."

"You're right," he breathed, pushing himself to his feet. Rika quickly scrambled to her feet and away from him. Apparently she hadn't expected him to start moving around. He smiled wryly.

"I've had worse than this Rika. It was just a knife," he said calmly. _A knife right to my chest. What the hell did she hit? _

Rika scowled as she watched him fall back into a fighting stance. "You can't fight like that," she muttered, watching him warily. She relaxed slightly as Shuichi tilted his head, lowering his hands.

"True," he muttered.

"Then I win," she said proudly. She blinked when Shuichi only smiled, before gasping as she was suddenly thrown back. Shuichi watched her hit another tree, before falling to the ground in a heap.

He waited a few moments, the plants retracting to their normal size, and when she didn't move, walked over to her. A quick check deemed that she was out cold and he was still bleeding from a chest wound, but he still managed a wry smile.

"No… I still won."

Shuichi looked down at her in silence, feeling the familiar throbbing pain of a wound making itself known again. As his mind carefully followed the line of thought on what should have, did and would happen he realized he should be in a hurry.

Rika proved to be a heavy dead weight once again as he carefully picked her up. He didn't bother adjusting his hold so she wouldn't be covered in blood. It was her fault anyway. If she wanted to use dirty tricks she'd have to deal with the aftermath of it.

But he had only been walking for a few minutes when he began debating on just leaving her in the woods until he could help himself. Rika was only knocked out, she'd wake up eventually. And though he seriously considered it, he decided it wouldn't help him in the long run and continued on.

By the time he could see the temple he was at the beginnings of 'light headed'. The strain of carrying Rika through rough terrain was enough to get his heart working a little harder than normal. He would have passed out already if he hadn't stayed calm and brushed it off.

He tensed when he heard someone yelling, but relaxed when he identified it as a child, not a threat.

"Mama!"

"I'm busy. If you have something to tell me come here."

"But Mama!"

He could almost hear the frustrated sigh that came with resignation, and smiled slightly as a female demon wandered out onto the porch to find out what was bothering her son so much. Shuichi recognized her, and apparently she did as well because she gave him an exasperated look before looking worried.

"What happened to you?"

"Oh, don't worry. Just a friendly fight," he said lightly. He stumbled up the steps, forgetting to lift his foot all the way, but he righted himself immediately.

"You're bleeding all over the place, how is that friendly?"

"That's a dirty trick," he muttered, heading past her to get inside. She worriedly shuffled after him, her son in tow and asking questions that went ignored. Shuichi let out a sigh of relief when he was finally able to set Rika down.

"Get over here," the woman said irritably, taking holding of his shoulder and guiding him out of Rika's room and down the hall. "I swear you males are all the same. You'd ignore a missing limb if it made you seem stronger."

"It was only a knife."

"A knife to the chest is never good news. Especially since you have a heartbeat," she grumbled. He was settled down in a bathroom, one of the only practical rooms that Genkai had bothered keeping up to date.

He sat on the edge of the tub obediently, gripping the edges so he wouldn't be inclined to fall back and crack his head on the wall. That wouldn't help his day much.

Shuichi remained placid, barely noticing as the woman unbuttoned his shirt and moved it aside. He glanced down, mostly out of curiosity, and noticed that the blood had been flowing rather heavily. At the moment it was working on staining the top of his pants.

He couldn't see the wound itself, but he wasn't worried about it. He'd heal. But damn if his mother ever noticed his pants. He had only gotten them a month ago. And he was running out of explanations for these kinds of things.

"Pretty deep."

"Huh?"

"The wound is actually pretty deep," the woman said again, frowning. "Are you losing concentration already?"

She didn't seem to be expecting an answer, because she plowed right on with more questioning on what had happened, all while still cleaning off the blood so she could probably bandage him up.

But Shuichi didn't answer any of the questions, and instead chose to look absently at the wall. He hissed in pain as something was pressed against the wound; he hadn't been expecting it.

A quick glance revealed that it was gauze, and the woman was carefully taping it down. The pressure would staunch the bleeding, but he would have liked a warning before she had slapped it on.

"You'll need a change of clothes," she said, moving to inspect his eyes. "And rest," she added. "You got lucky boy. Who ever stabbed you must like you; they could have easily finished the job and left you for dead."

Shuichi frowned as she stood him up. "You're not the same size as Hiroshi –" well, she was definitely his mate then. "But I'm sure anything would do for now. Go back to your room; I'll bring you a different shirt."

He nodded slightly as she hurried off, before leaving the bathroom himself. He didn't go back to his room though, and instead continued on to Rika's. Hiroshi's son was still standing nearby, looking anxious, but he didn't go into the room or ask anymore questions.

Rika was still out for the count. He glanced around the room, realizing there wasn't really anywhere for him to sit down. He finally had to settle for a floor pillow, which he moved so he could lean against the wall and still keep an eye on her.

A few minutes passed before he heard something scraping on the floor. Shuichi looked up in confusion, before smiling wryly.

"Mama's not using it," the boy explained, peering around the chair he had pushed in.

"Thank you."

With his new position next to her bed he felt a little better, and did a quick check to make sure the damage wasn't too bad. No broken bones, her spine was intact. The shock must have caused her to lose consciousness. She'd probably wake up soon.

"There you are. This isn't your room you know."

"I know," Shuichi said, smiling at the woman. He carefully shrugged off his shirt, which he was a little surprised to find was covered almost entirely in blood on the front, and traded her for one of Hiroshi's.

It was plain, with long sleeves, but it was better than nothing. He thanked her as she walked away, before carefully pulling it on. He frowned as he pulled his hair out of it, looking at Rika quietly.

If she had really had the chance to kill him, why hadn't she? The collar would have come right off.

Something had stopped her. But at this point, he couldn't be entirely sure of what it was.


	16. Chapter 16

_**Reviews always slow down in the summer. **You're all on vacation, I know. So thanks to the readers that are like me, and are reading this because they have nothing else to do. This was one of those chapters that I couldn't quite organize my thoughts about, because I'm feelings retarded. It's Shuichi centric, so we can get into his head. It's not very action packed._

**Edit: added song lyrics. They're from "_The Other Way" _by Weezer.**_  
_

* * *

_**Seams**_

_Sixteen_

_"I have many doubts about my motives, I have many fears about my greed..."  
_

When Rika woke up, she promptly proceeded to pretend that Shuichi had simply dropped off the face of the Earth and ceased to exist. When he realized he wasn't going to get anywhere, he bid her an ignored farewell and began the slow walk home.

Being ignored hadn't really been on the top of his 'likely outcomes' list, but he wasn't entirely surprised. The whole reason she had challenged him was to judge if she could have done something to change the fates back then.

He figured she would have felt better knowing that there wasn't a chance, but she had come rather close to getting away. The fight, in the end, must have dashed any previous thoughts of herself as well as tell her that if she had just followed through, she could have easily gotten away.

But he was surprised that he had been caught off guard like that, just as she had been known to do. He was Youko Kurama, he should have been immune!

No. That wasn't right. He wasn't Youko. Not anymore.

Shuichi sighed, rubbing his forehead before shoving his hands in his pockets. He paused, letting the people shift and flow around him. He suddenly felt very unenthusiastic about all of this.

None of this was Shuichi… he wanted to live a normal life with his human family. He had been so sure that he had cast off any of the demonic quirks to his personality. And now here he was in this situation with Rika.

It screamed 'demon' in every aspect. But he felt more whole than he had in a long time.

He frowned as he finally began moving again, before breaking away from the crowd and sitting down on a bench. He realized that he was probably making this harder for himself than he had to.

But he knew that he couldn't let Shiori know what he had done to her unborn child. She would hate him, no matter what his explanation. That possibility bothered him. It was disconcerting to think that the woman that had raised him could hate him. And had a very good reason if she so chose.

Rika wasn't more important than that. He should find a human girl. He still talked to Maya. Though, if he remembered she was in a relationship already.

"Shuichi."

He blinked slowly, drawing himself out of his musings and looking up. Keiko was smiling down at him, though she looked a little concerned. She was holding a shopping bag in one hand.

Shuichi hadn't even noticed he had wandered to a shopping district.

"You were staring off into space. That's never a good sign with you," Keiko explained, sitting down next to him and setting her bag near her feet. "I know we don't talk much, but is something bothering you?"

He raised his eyebrows, surprised by how quickly she had gotten to the point. They really didn't talk all that much, but it wasn't particularly out of dislike for the other.

Keiko was actually rather quiet, and since she had nothing to lecture Shuichi about, except for one instance that they never mentioned again, they didn't interact much. Not when Yusuke was around making trouble.

But there had been a few times when she had sought him out for advice, so she had probably decided to pay him back for the help. Or maybe she was just being a friend.

What ever the case Shuichi found himself sighing and leaning back. "I'm just over thinking some things."

"Things you can't talk about out here?" Keiko asked quietly. She frowned when Shuichi nodded slightly. She stood up, sighing. "Come on. You really do look like you need to talk. I won't even say anything if you don't want me to."

Shuichi smiled slightly, before standing up, his hands finding his pockets again. "Alright, lead the way," he said lightly, nodding his head slightly.

Keiko smiled faintly again as she stood and headed off, easily weaving through the crowd with the red head on her heels. They didn't speak as they walked, and Shuichi couldn't muse much or he'd run into someone, or lose Keiko.

He was stopped by a hand on his arm, which made him tense. Keiko smiled at him, before guiding him to sit on another bench. Shuichi already knew where they were. He recognized the sounds easily; the park was like a different world.

Shuichi knew that none of the children would wander that far away from the playground, and their parents wouldn't take their eyes off of them. It wasn't completely private, but at least it wouldn't make them feel uncomfortable.

"Is it Koenma? Or someone else?" Keiko asked quietly. They didn't look at each other, but both shifted to get comfortable.

"It isn't Koenma. I'm conflicted about something else, sadly."

Keiko tilted her head and glanced at him, waiting.

"Keiko, I explained how I was…leaving the past to the past, when I returned from the Makai."

"When I asked you about Yusuke," Keiko muttered. She had asked why he was back so soon without waiting for him to answer, assuming that something had happened to Yusuke. Shuichi had told her everything then.

She was one of the few that remembered to call him Shuichi.

Shuichi nodded. "I'm having some problems with it, I suppose. Ever since Rika came …" he frowned.

"Because she's from out of town?" Keiko asked, smiling wryly. Shuichi laughed a bit, nodding. "But you still talk to Hiei, and Yusuke," she pointed out. "It can't just be because of that."

"No, it's not the same as that. I … I knew her before. When I was still in a more … mischievous stage of my life."

Keiko only nodded her understanding.

"Things didn't go well then. I forced her to stay with me, with that collar she's wearing."

"Shuichi … why would you have …" Keiko trailed off, looking a bit stunned. She had assumed the collar was just something Rika felt like wearing. She hadn't guessed it had an actual purpose.

"When I was younger, I had run into her. She was something of a legend that spread around through word of mouth, mostly by men. I figured I could do what no one else could. But things went wrong, and I never got the chance.

"I ran into her again and … you see, back then, I would always be bitter if I didn't get something I wanted, and I would try again. I stole her freedom instead. I figured it would get around that I had caught something that couldn't be pinned down," he said, smiling slightly.

"I took care of her, for the most part. I started putting off my plans. I wanted her to …" he frowned, trailing off. Keiko tilted her head, thinking, but he continued without her help. "I wanted to win her over."

"You figured it would be more gratifying that way, I'm guessing. You always feel better when you earn something," Keiko muttered.

"But it wasn't in the sense of a relationship. I just wanted to know that she was willing. I thought I was finally getting somewhere, and then things went wrong. I ended up here and I lost interest."

"But you're with her now."

"She found me, with Yomi's help. She wanted me to take off the collar. She wanted nothing to do with me … but …" he frowned, sighing.

"Is this where the conflict starts?" Keiko asked, prompting him on. Shuichi nodded, tilting his head back slightly.

"I felt like Youko again," he muttered. "I wanted to try again to win her over, but not for the same reasons." He sighed so forlornly that Keiko looked worried. She'd never seen him so bothered.

"I want a relationship Keiko, and I want it to be with Rika," he said carefully, hesitating.

"That makes sense though Shuichi, if you've known her that long."

"She doesn't trust me. She thinks I'm trying to use her again. And the more time I spend with her, the more I feel like… like my old self. Rika won't see me any other way."

They fell into silence, mostly so Keiko could catch up and think it over.

"So … you're back to square one, being two different people?"

"I can't live two lives again Keiko. It's too hard, and I feel guilty for what I did to Shiori's child."

"Shuichi, you _are _her child," she said firmly. "She raised you and loves you. You're a good son, even Yusuke knows that much."

She seemed to be able to tell that Shuichi wasn't on the same line of thought with that topic, and gently took his hand. She smiled at him when he looked at her, sighing.

"I don't know what happened when you took over, but you gave her child a soul, and it's a good one, I'm sure of that. Shiori probably doesn't even think of you being any different than you are now."

"How will I explain things when Rika doesn't age?" he muttered. "Or when my aging slows down?"

"Will it?"

"It's already started. I won't last as long as a demon, this body is human, but I probably have a good century or so ahead of me," he muttered.

Keiko frowned, apparently unable to wrap her head around her friend lasting so long, possibly outlasting all of them but Yusuke and Hiei. The thought was depressing, even for Shuichi.

"Maybe that's why you want to be with Rika," she muttered. "Because she'll be able to live that long with you."

Shuichi didn't comment on that, apparently still waiting for an answer. He had often debated on telling Shiori, but was unsure of what her reaction would be, if she would cast him away.

That would hurt more than losing Rika again. But if someone else could give him an answer, he'd accept it.

"Atsuko still cares about Yusuke," she pointed out finally. "Even when he wasn't around she still cared about him. It's very hard for a mother to hate her own child, Shuichi."

They listened to the children playing, their thoughts straying for the moment.

"Will you tell her?"

"I don't know how," he muttered. Keiko nodded in acceptance, giving his hand a reassuring squeeze. They sat like that for awhile, with Shuichi staring off into space. But at least he wasn't sitting there alone.

Keiko however, was about ready to fall asleep when Shuichi finally moved again, looking at his watch. "I should get home. Mother's been worrying about me lately."

Nodding, Keiko released his hand and stood, stretching slightly. "Shuichi, call me if things are still bothering you. I'm getting a little worried too," she said, letting out a small laugh.

Shuichi offered her a small smile. He didn't feel he'd found a resolution, but he felt better now that he had actually spoken with someone. "Don't worry Keiko, I'm alright. But I'll call if I need anything, if it helps."

She nodded, before saying good bye and heading back in the direction of home. Shuichi glanced around the park, before beginning the trek home. The park wasn't ridiculously far, so he was relieved to find that he had made it back as his mother was putting dinner on the table.

She looked relieved to see him, rushing over and kissing his cheek, her hands gently holding his head. "You know exactly how to worry me," she said, sighing. The small smile on her face lightened the statement. "But most sons do."

Shuichi smiled, quickly becoming swept up in the whirlwind of his family and their chatter. But even though his mother had made his favorite, it was marred by the nagging thought in the back of his head.

_She doesn't know what you are. _


	17. Chapter 17

_**Sorry this took so long. **I'm very frustrated with this chapter, because I was struggling to make it longer, but it all seemed forced. So I put it back to three pages, and decided to be done with it. I'll probably have an easier time with the next chapter, when I'm not stressing about speeches. Feedback and opinions would be nice, so I can stay focused._

_**Lyrics are from "Won't Home Without You", by Maroon 5**_

* * *

_**Seams**_

_Seventeen_

_"Oh, the words that would mend the things that were broken..."_

Shuichi actually spent time with his family that night, which surprised all of them. It wasn't a surprise when he won their game three times before they gave up and opted for a movie. He went to bed that night wondering how things would be with Rika, but reminded himself that he had a month, and it had only been a few days.

Still, he didn't visit her in the morning, knowing that she was always unhappy with being woken up early. He didn't want to lower the temperature of this cold shoulder anymore than he had to.

He decided that it would be best to go to work and think things over then. He didn't need his family noticing that something was bothering him; sitting through another motherly discussion wasn't high on his list of things to do.

So, he sat through another awkward trip to work, and listened to Yusuke talk about nothing before remembering he had called to remember when his anniversary was ("Keiko's actin' kinda funny… is today important?").

He tried not to think of Rika and what she might be doing when he got to work. He needed to stay focused on work, and not act strangely. Despite his determination, he ended up spending most of his workday staring out the window and wondering just what she was doing.

Probably planning his death. Again.

"Shuichi. Are you planning on getting anything done today?"

The sharp tone drew his focus away from the window, but when he looked at his stepfather he didn't look as angry as he had sounded. He sighed slightly, hoping that was all this discussion would involve.

"Yes, I'm sorry."

"Listen, your mother mentioned that a friend of yours was having problems, is that what this is about?" Hatanaka questioned, his voice lowering slightly. Shuichi was amused by the attempt at being sympathetic, but he didn't show it. At least Shiori had stuck to that 'mother's code' of hers.

"It's a little distracting, but it's nothing to worry about. I'm sorry for letting it get in the way," he said, smiling slightly. Hatanaka eyed him for a moment, considering saying something else; but he nodded, muttered something along the lines of 'it's alright' and left.

Waiting for a return appearance, Shuichi looked after him, his head tilted slightly. When Hatanaka had gotten far enough way that he was sure he wouldn't be coming back with something wise to say, he looked back out the window.

At least he was trying to be a father. Some what.

He was going to fall back to his musings when his phone decided to remind him of its existence as well. After a moment of hesitation, he dug it out of his pocket and flipped it open.

"_Kur—Shuichi?"_

His eyebrows raised in surprise. "Rika?"

Another long silence greeted him.

"Rika, what is it?"

"_I don't know… I just wanted to…"_ he could hear her moving, letting out another sigh. _"I had to talk to you, I don't know why. The number was in the kitchen, but I had to find a payphone."_

"A payphone?" He was aware that someone's gaze was on him, and a quick glance showed that Hatanaka had returned, probably drawn by the sudden conversation. He looked back at the wall, listening to Rika's light breathing.

"_That temple… I'm sick of those demons."_

"Where are you then?"

"_I think I took the wrong bus."_

"What? Where were you trying to go?" There was some hesitation, and he was worried she wasn't listening.

"_I guess your house. Shuichi…I knew I should have taken my chance when I had it…" _she muttered.

"We'll talk about it later okay? If you don't know where you are I'm going to come find you."

"_No, don't. I'm not that directionally challenged, okay?"_

"Don't go anywhere," Shuichi said flatly, hanging up before she could protest. He knew she wouldn't go anywhere now. With the collar still on she'd still listen to him, as long as she knew he was being serious.

"I'm taking my lunch," he announced, looking at Hatanaka. The man sighed, but didn't say anything to stop him. As long as he used his own time, Shuichi was pretty sure he wouldn't have anything to complain about.

He managed to keep himself collected as he walked out side, his energy lazily reaching out and trying to sense hers. But the more he searched, the more he became worried, thinking over the phone call.

Rika had sounded dazed and unsure, as if she had forgotten what she had been doing. He began to worry that something had happened to her, but he couldn't imagine what it could have been, given the place she was staying.

Had it been his fault? Had he done irreparable damage to her body? Her mind?

The rush of guilt caused him to pick up his pace, caused his energy to rush out in a search for Rika's. It finally found her and latched on, his feet urging him to reach her faster than he could manage; he sprinted in compensation.

He didn't pay attention to where he was going; he didn't apologize as he ran past people or nearly ran them down; he ignored the protest his feet were starting to give, for running like a human.

He had to keep going, or he would let her down again; what little there was left of her trust would be obliterated. His human emotions were rallying against that prospect.

Finally, after running for what felt like years, he spotted Rika on the sidewalk, looking flustered and rubbing her forehead. She seemed to sense his approach and turned, looking stunned; it probably seemed like he was charging at her to take her down.

But just like that, everything stopped; he collided with soft skin, became enveloped in small arms and twisted his fingers into her matted hair.

"I'm sorry."

They stood in silence, and he felt her let out a long breath, her nails digging into his back, before her hands relaxed. They didn't move, Rika clinging to him like a plank of wood from a wreck on water.

"That's good to hear," Rika muttered finally.

* * *

_There's a lot of significance to what Shuichi just said. I hope you know that.  
_


	18. Chapter 18

_**Another annoying chapter. **I couldn't bring myself to make it any longer. This update took forever. It had a lot more in it, but I hated it, cut out half of it, rewrote the rest and added the ending. I'm very stressed and tired.  
_

* * *

_**Seams**_

_Eighteen_

"We can talk over lunch then, if that makes you feel better."

Rika was frowning at him, her arms crossed now that she had reasserted her personal space. Shuichi knew that she had called to talk about something, but when he asked, she had refused to say a word about it.

Either she had changed her mind, or she didn't want to talk about it here on the street. She had been trying to get to his house, after all.

"No. Shuichi, please. If I don't want to talk about it here, why would it be better in a building?"

"Well I'd like to get something to eat either way. I'm on my lunch break now," he said a bit bitterly. Playing the human or not, he didn't like having information withheld from him. Especially in this situation.

He needed her to talk to him, and the reproachful look she was giving him showed that he wasn't doing well on convincing her. He decided it would be better to give in to what she wanted.

"Okay, I get it… you want to talk, so tell me where," he muttered.

Rika seemed to be slightly mollified by the relinquishing of control, and crossed her arms. He watched as she pursed her lips slightly, thinking before she finally reached her decision.

"The park."

Shuichi stared at her.

_The park. _

_The park was on the other side of town_.

But it was the choice she had made, with the control he had given her. To challenge her now would not help her mood, or his. He had no choice but to nod his head, and wait for the bus in silence.

Complete silence. Rika refused to even make small talk with him, and by the time the bus arrived Shuichi had given up completely. He was starting to get the feeling that this interaction wasn't going to be in his favor.

But he maintained his dignity, and didn't show any of his worry.

Rika made use of her poker face as well. It must have looked odd to the others on the bus, seeing a young, supposed, couple staring blankly ahead and out the window. Shuichi would have been happy if she was at least complaining about the bus ride. The silence was agitating.

He was rather sure he was on the edge of snapping completely by the time the bus slowed to a stop and he and Rika made their way off. The street was crowded with women shopping, and the park was filled with children and more mothers.

Just like before.

The similarity was disconcerting, and Shuichi was wondering if Rika had chosen this place on purpose. If that was the case …

He shook his head slightly as the bus pulled away.

"Are you coming?" Rika scowled, looking back at him. He sighed, before following after her, finding himself feeling oddly weary but refusing to analyze the feeling.

The walk to the park seemed to take hours instead of the usual five minutes, and once they got there, Rika made a beeline for the same tree they had sat under when she had first showed up. How long ago had that been? A week? Two?

They both sat down in silence, refusing to look at the other as they listened to children playing around them.

One of them was going to lose. He could feel it, and he tensed slightly when Rika sighed.

"Don't interrupt me, okay? This is hard enough for me," she said, tilting her head back slightly as she eyed him. Shuichi nodded slightly, waiting for her to continue.

"It's only been about a week… and I really thought I would be able to handle all of this. But I can't," she said frowning. "I'm on the end of my rope, Shuichi. I can't take this anymore.

"I don't know if it's this world or if it's just waiting or… or something else. But after that fight, when I couldn't kill you… I realized that you'd won," she murmured, looking down.

Shuichi blinked, letting the words settle in. He'd won?

"I wish I knew why. I don't have a _reason _to like you. Youko's good at what he does, I guess. That's the only thing I can think of. I didn't want to like you," she said evenly, looking at him. "I still don't."

Shuichi waited as she paused, recognizing the look on her face as one she wore when trying to figure something out.

"But… there's more of me that wants to be with you," she murmured. She blinked, startled as Shuichi suddenly moved closer, but she instinctively tucked her head into the crook of his neck.

Shuichi waited again, to see if she would change her mind, but she moved only to fit better against him; relief and triumph swelled through him as he carefully cradled her against him.

It felt good, winning. But the prize was nice too.

Neither of them moved for a few more minutes, before Shuichi slipped his hand to her neck. The collar dropped off into her lap and she picked it up, eyeing it with mild fascination.

She rubbed her neck carefully, before he heard a soft laugh. It didn't take long for that to turn into a fit as she leapt up, obviously elated. Shuichi wondered briefly if she'd run off now that she had the chance.

But she didn't.

She turned and knelt back down, catching him in a firm kiss.

"You're forgiven."

* * *

_**I'm cackling right now. You should be worried.  
**_


	19. Chapter 19

_**This also took me awhile. **I had a first draft, hated it, deleted, started over, and suddenly it was like magic was making me hit the keys. Wa-bam! This was also really long at one point, seven whole pages, but I felt it was getting draggy so I split up the chapters. I'm adding a bit more to chapter 20, but it should be out a lot sooner than this one was.  
_

* * *

_**Seams**_

_Nineteen_

Shuichi was well aware that the whole affair hadn't taken anything close to a month; then again, part of him had never expected it to. Besides, this meant more time figuring out how they would pull off the couple act.

Rika wasn't comfortable at all with the way humans treated their relationships. When Shuichi had attempted showing her in the few days after he had removed the collar, she had gotten frustrated and snapped at him before storming off.

He wasn't really surprised, but because it had been a public place he tried to look hurt and apologized before going after her. She only came back when he reminded her she hadn't finished eating.

But now he was on his own, back in his mother's garden while Keiko helped Rika find more clothes. Normally, he wouldn't have accepted the offer; he was rather sure Rika wouldn't be interested. But when Rika had overheard the phone conversation she immediately announced that she wanted to go.

He didn't really have a reason to tell her no, and he took comfort in the fact that she wanted to go out of the house with someone else and buy the things. Hiei had often shown lack of interest in human things, and the moment he could, had run back to demon world to stay.

Unless he was coming back to steal more of his things.

But if Rika's interest was anything to bet on, he was pretty sure things were going to go well. Without the tension of the collar issue, she was more apt to talk to people, and him, without searching for an escape.

He supposed it was because the feeling of being permanently trapped had been taken away. He just hoped they'd actually be able to have a functional relationship, at least for awhile.

There was still some worry over the clashing identities, or his family finding out what Rika was, but Shuichi could care less at that point. He supposed if there was one thing he would often fall into, it was unneeded confidence and carelessness after it was over and he had won.

Old habits die hard.

But now as he stood in the garden, nursing the wisteria and feeling slightly drowsy from the strong scent, he realized that he felt a distinct emptiness, a nagging feeling as if he had forgotten something.

It took him a few more moments to realize it was because that strand of his energy was no longer attached to the collar and was no longer linked to someone else.

And when he realized that he felt a slight twist of anxiety, and the wisteria crept further outward before he remembered to reign his powers back in. He stared at the purple flowers, a thoughtful look on his face as he contemplated this new development.

Did he miss the connection, knowing where she was even when he hadn't realized it? Or did he miss having control over something, the carnal instinct and desire to be dominant?

The wisteria seemed to return his confusion, unable to figure why the source of power it had come to enjoy wasn't as fulfilling and fun as it had been before.

Shuichi sighed, stroking one of the vines as he murmured an apology. If the wisteria could give him a baleful glare, it probably would have been sending one his way as he headed back inside.

Shiori greeted him, the same as she always did, asking about dinner as Shuichi washed his hands and stared out the window with an absent look on his face. The absent look was new to the routine, and Shiori seemed to notice.

"Shuichi, what's wrong? You look bothered."

He bit back a hiss of annoyance at being caught once again by his mother. But at least his brother wasn't in the house, or his father. Hatanaka had taken up the offer to take his son downtown for a few hours, to keep him busy while dinner was made.

"Is it Rika? Are things not going well between you two?"

"No, Mother, things are going very well," Shuichi said easily, turning to look at his mother with a smile as he dried his hands off. "Why would you assume they're going badly?"

"You can't seem to agree on some things," Shiori murmured, giving her son a concerned look. "Most things, actually. I overheard an argument the other day… I didn't say anything; I know I shouldn't have been listening."

Shuichi stared at his mother, the worry on his face sincere; what had she heard?

"I'm going to guess that your relationship has made a few transitions that you two might not have been ready for," she said, giving him a stern, knowing look.

"It's not really that, we're just trying to find the balance with what we both want," he said, frowning slightly. "Neither of us has been in a relationship before."

"I know you haven't," she said, sighing. "Rika… she's not from around here, is she? I heard her say something about not liking the way we did things."

He tried not to tense, or otherwise snap and try to kill her for knowing things she shouldn't. This was his mother; she wasn't going to sell the information to someone.

"She's… it's the dating that she's not used to. I guess she didn't grow up with the concept."

Mostly because you courted someone, mated, then put up with each other to take care of the resulting offspring and if you were so inclined you'd mate again. There wasn't really a continued dating process.

"She doesn't like it?"

"We're trying to work that out."

Shiori sighed, a thoughtful look on her face. "I know it's not easy to start dating when you've never done it… or if it's been a long time since you have.

"But you need to take it slow and start small. Which is something that you seem to have a problem with at times."

Shuichi offered a small smile in recognition at the prod. He knew that she was thinking of the rather large present he had given to her and Hatanaka for their honeymoon. That hadn't really been a small start to welcoming in the new part of his family.

"You don't need to take her out of her comfort zone," she said firmly. "Things like this take time, and will happen on their own if they're meant to."

He blinked, watching as his mother moved past him and began getting dinner ready. He finally raised his eyebrows.

"Thank you, Mother."

"Of course, Shuichi, it's not a problem. You're my son. I'm supposed to give you advice."

She turned down his offer to help with dinner, telling him to relax for when Rika came back. She was supposed to eat with the family tonight, even though they didn't know she'd been eating at the house for awhile now.

But then again, his mother seemed to be picking up on a lot lately.

Mother's intuition was starting to make him nervous.

But still, he took the advice and went upstairs to his room, his eyes straying over the unlocked window before he headed to his bed and lay down. He frowned, moving his hands behind his head as he got comfortable, his gaze set on the ceiling.

Maybe they were just trying too hard. Things might really be fine between the two of them if they just let things fall into place on their own. Things had fallen into place without him trying to pursue her constantly like he had planned.

In fact, he had only really shown interest in the traditional way a few times; when he had given her the necklace she was still wearing, and when he had invited her to Yukina's birthday party.

He was rather sure that it had only been this easy because of the complicated relationship between her and Youko. He actually hadn't been sure of what she had felt about him then either.

Hopefully, their confusion about their relationship wouldn't affect it too badly.

Sighing, he closed his eyes, forcing himself to relax while he waited for her to return and for his mother to finish dinner. Hopefully she wasn't thinking too hard about his relationships, or she'd be breaking his comfort zone pretty soon.

* * *

_Wa-bam! This chapter is done. And you still have no answers. Cackle!_


	20. Chapter 20

_**So, this is actually a pretty fast update. **And I think it's mostly because I had already started this awhile ago, and I finished this, edited it, and got antsy. I think this only has about one or two more chapters.  
_

* * *

_**Seams**_

_Twenty_

"Shu-ani! Shu-ani, come on, your dinner's getting cold."

Shuichi frowned, blearily opening his eyes. He wondered for a moment if something was in his eyes before he realized it was dark outside. He grunted slightly as he sat up, rubbing his eyes.

"Shuichi, when did you get home?" he muttered, looking at his brother as he turned on the lamp on his desk.

'_Thoughtful.'_

"I got home awhile ago, brother," the younger boy said with a frown. "Mother said not to wake you up, said it was best that you got some rest."

"And it's been long enough for my dinner to get cold? I hope you didn't wait for me."

"No, we ate. But they're still sitting at the table," he said with a shrug, fiddling with a paper weight that was on the desk. "Hey… one of your friends called. The number's here," he said.

He sounded so serious that Shuichi felt a bit worried, but he stood up to take the piece of paper from him. He recognized it as his mother's handwriting, and Keiko's number. His brother seemed to catch the worry on his face, because he asked if he was okay.

Shuichi didn't answer, turning to grab his cell phone and dial the number. His brother seemed to take that as his cue to leave and reminded him to come eat, before walking out of the room.

The sound of the door closing barely registered once the phone started ringing. Maybe they were just staying out later than planned. He took a breath when the phone stopped ringing.

"Keiko?"

"_Oh, Shuichi, I was wondering when you'd call back. Your mother said you were sleeping."_

"Is everything alright?"

He frowned at the silence that followed, before Keiko let out a small sigh. He sat down on his bed, waiting. He could hear Yusuke in the background, before Keiko quieted him.

"_I lost her."_

"What? Lost her… how did you lose her?"

"_I don't know Shuichi. We were shopping, and I turned to ask her something and she was gone. I asked everyone if they had seen her, but all they saw was her leaving the store._

"_I tried calling you when it happened but you were asleep, so I called Yusuke so he could help me find her-"_

"_I don't know where she is man, it's like she disappeared."_

Shuichi blinked, guessing that Yusuke had snatched the phone. "Disappeared?"

"_I looked all over the city. I had to call Kuwabara and them to see if they could sense her, but we couldn't find her. What about that collar-"_

"_Yusuke!"_

"_What, you said that's what it's for!"_

"_Shuichi, I'm sorry, we really tried. Maybe she's on her way to your house."_

Shuichi frowned, barely listening as he looked out the window his eyes automatically focusing on the tree.

Empty.

"_Shuichi?"_

"Sorry, Keiko," he sighed, looking away from the window. "No, I don't think she's on her way here. I'll call you back, and let her know if I find her. Tell everyone thanks for me, for trying."

"_Shuichi, are you going to be okay?"_

"…I'll be fine. She'll show up," he said, smiling. Even though she couldn't see it, he knew it would make him sound cheerier.

"_Well… alright. Just call okay?"_

"Of course. Thank you again Keiko."

He frowned as he hung up, setting his cell phone aside. All he could bring himself to do was stare at the phone, before he decided he should eat first. He didn't need his mother worrying over him again.

His acting skills apparently hadn't faded, since his family hadn't asked if anything was wrong the entire time he ate. His mother did ask where Rika was, and he had no problem telling her that she and Keiko were still out and about.

"Thank you for dinner, Mother," he said automatically, standing. Shiori smiled at him, but he caught the slight tinge of worry in her eyes, which caused him to hurry upstairs.

He hesitated before going into his room; part of him was sure that she'd be sitting on his bed or looking through his things. But when he opened the door his room was just as empty as before.

Frowning again, he closed the door behind him before grabbing his cell phone again. He sat down, dialing a number he had memorized a long time ago. He waited, looking at the wall as the number finally connected and the phone began ringing.

"_Kurama."_

"Usually the caller speaks first Yomi."

"_I'm hardly concerned about who speaks first. You haven't had a reason to call in awhile, why the change?"_

"Rika."

"_Ah, she came by a week ago, I believe. I still have her things here, actually. I was tempted to send them to you, but I wasn't sure if you would need them."_

"Yomi, listen. Do you know where she is?"

"_No, I don't. You sound bothered, Kurama, was she not supposed to leave?" _He didn't wait for an answer before continuing.

"_It does seem I've gotten word from her, if that comforts you at all. She's coming to get her things herself. She left a message for you as well, which I'm not allowed to read." _

"When can I expect to see that?"

"_Well, I can get it to you by tonight. Where would you like to receive it? I know you're rather sensitive about how close the supernatural comes to your family."_

"My house is fine. The window's unlocked."

"_How human of you, messages through the window. Would you like a pebble thrown at the glass, to let you know it's there?"_

"You've been reading too much," Shuichi grumbled. "I just want my message."

"_Then you can expect it to arrive soon, Kurama. It's now my top priority. You have my best wishes, by the way."_

"Goodbye, Yomi."

Shuichi quietly hung up the phone, setting it aside again. He refused to let his mind focus on anything that had happened recently. He instead focused on Yomi's annoying tone of voice. As if he was mocking him and holding information from him at the same time.

He'd had that tone since he had called him to demon world to help him. It must have been because Yomi had more power than he had ever managed to get as Youko. So instead of thinking about Rika, he stubbornly focused on the irritation that came with that thought.

He was focusing so much on his annoyance that he almost missed the taps on his window. It was when one tap sounded like it was about to break the window that he finally looked over.

A lower level demon was giving him an agitated look, holding up a paper. Shuichi frowned, before opening the window and taking it from him. He didn't bother thanking him; the demon was already taking off.

He looked down at the paper, carefully folded into a square with his name on it, as if it would bite his face off. He realized he had never actually seen Rika's handwriting before, and was surprised at how neat it was. And that she even knew how to spell his name in the first place.

But he realized that he had to read the note, and carefully unfolded the paper as he sat back down on his bed. He didn't bother closing the window, or straightening out the paper. It didn't matter at the moment.

He read it over carefully, a frown on his face, which deepened the further into the message he read. He wasn't sure how many times he read it over, or when he had regained the feelings in his limbs and his basic motor skills. But when they had come back, he absently refolded the paper the exact same way Rika had folded it, before spending a few more minutes fingering the paper as he thought.

Shuichi finally set the paper aside to get ready for bed, suddenly feeling very tired and conflicted. She had told him he had won.

He was sure that he had lost.

* * *

_**I'm still cackling. **Yeah, you'll get to see what she wrote, but in the next chapter, when I finish writing that. And who knows how long that will be. I'm hoping to be done by tomorrow though.  
_


	21. Chapter 21

_**Finally got this one out. **This one was bugging me because I thought I would get it done a lot sooner. But I was trying to make it more like the first chapter of this story style wise. The reason being that for the last few chapters, things have been coming full circle (which a lot of you seemed to miss, wtf). So I thought what better way to make that obvious than keep a similar style and layout between the first chapter and this one. _

* * *

_**Seams**_

_Twenty-one_

The apartment was quiet, except for the faint sounds of life outside the open windows. Birds loudly proclaimed their place in the trees that seemed to be just a bit taller and healthier than the others on the street.

Bees and other bugs fluttered and scurried between plants and flowers, going about their business and accepting the presence of a quiet red haired man that the children often called the Plant Man.

Sighing, he absently wiped away the beginnings of sweat which, on most people, would have shown up two hours ago given the heat and the sun beating down on his back.

But Shuichi was content in the garden that he took care of for the others in the apartment complex, most of whom were too old or too busy to give it the proper attention.

But slowly and gradually, the residents were making the time to venture to their windows, or head outside and look at the plants that thrived where others had withered away from neglect.

Teenage and middle-age women tittered over the flowers that would often appear at their doors for their birthdays, grandmothers told their families of the nice young man that had helped her carry her things to her apartment, or helped her up the stairs.

Younger boys shared the new games that they had learned, and told others of the man who could fix any broken toy that wandered his way. Teenage boys grudgingly accepted the sound advice that was given to them, and men appreciated the on the spot help that he offered.

And still, he could be seen sitting on a bench, shaded by the vines and flowers of a wisteria, as if he were waiting for something. His eyes would become vacant, and he adopted an expression that people often equated with absent-minded old men in their seventies.

It was completely out of place for someone only in his early twenties.

The wind brushed through the apartment again, and Shuichi's ears picked up the faint flutter of paper caught by the draft, listened as it resettled. The sound was a reassurance to him as much as it was a pain.

It hung quietly on a cork board above his desk, worn from constantly being folded and unfolded; the pristine white was fading to a cream color that he wouldn't have noticed if he hadn't tacked up a new paper next to it.

He eventually took the new paper down; he didn't want to be reminded of the time that had passed.

But the ink stayed, boldly reminding him of the author, the smooth, neat handwriting holding promises that taunted him and reassured him. Words that tore into his soul and then pieced it back together.

The only person who had seen the paper besides himself was Hiei, who regarded it quietly and kept any comments he may have had to himself. All of his friends stayed quiet.

He was glad. It allowed him to think. It was hard enough having to deal with his step-father at work; he didn't need anything but that paper to remind him of what had happened and what wasn't there.

The wind picked up again, but he ignored the sound of paper in favor for focusing on the scent of wisteria. He was tempted to drown in it, but he wouldn't let himself.

If she never came back, he wanted to be able to live his life. Letting himself drown in anything wasn't going to help that. But the plants were the only thing that had nothing to do with the paper.

And her.

The purple flowers seemed to be reaching out to comfort him, but Shuichi ignored them and headed back inside the apartment building. He suddenly found himself wanting to get out of the heat.

He was relieved when no one stopped him on his way back to his apartment to chat. He was hardly in the mood for it right now; he'd let himself think about things for too long.

The apartment was mercifully cool and silent; more plants were welcoming him back home as they quietly and subtly shifted to face him, forgetting the sun.

It was a comforting feeling, but he didn't stop to give them any special attention. They had gotten that this morning, when he had woken up. He instead headed straight to his room, and began digging for nicer clothes than the ones that he usually wore in the garden.

The paper fluttered slightly, causing Shuichi to falter and pause, looking up from his drawer to gaze at the paper with a sober expression. The words had already been burned into his mind, and he was willing to bet that he had seen them even while he slept.

"You're slow today."

Shuichi turned his head to look at the window, offering Hiei a small smile as he slipped into the apartment. "The others are getting impatient. You were supposed to be at the temple an hour ago."

"I was in the garden."

Hiei gave a disdainful sniff. The demon wasn't one to mock another person's abilities if they knew how to use them and make them useful, but he was less than pleased with Shuichi using his powers for menial human tasks normally meant for a female.

"Hurry up. Without you around everyone's been talking to me instead. What are you doing?"

"I'm changing clothes."

"Why? The one's you're wearing are fine."

"It's a human thing Hiei," he explained calmly, buttoning up the fresh shirt. He almost reached up to pull his hair out of his collar, but he reminded himself that he had gotten it cut awhile ago.

"Which means it's completely unnecessary," Hiei said, looking out the window in disinterest. He narrowed his eyes slightly as the wind breezed through again, the paper catching his attention now.

Shuichi watched him, before glancing at the paper himself.

"That's pathetic. It's been almost four years," the demon said, trying his best not to sneer. When Shuichi made no comment, he continued. "Let me guess: it's a human thing."

"More of a fox thing," he replied wistfully. "Some things we can't let go."

"You'll have to learn. You're wasting your time with all of this. Throw that thing away when you get home tonight. Hurry up and get to the temple," Hiei said, before disappearing.

Shuichi closed the window after him, the paper stilling and facing him in resolute silence.

_Stop clinging to the past, Kurama. _

Sighing, he carefully took the paper down and refolded it, setting it on his desk. He walked out of the room without a second glance.

xxx

'_Shuichi, or Kurama,_

'_You have a lot of paper in your room. And this handy pen. But you're asleep right now, so you don't have much light. So I'm sorry if things get a little messy in this. _

'_I know you're probably already aware that I'm not around. And I'm sorry for that too. I know you're probably confused, and I also know you're probably hurt even if you aren't admitting it. And the only reason I know that is because you're going to think that I tricked you into losing your silly bet. _

'_And I know you hate to lose. But you haven't. I meant it, when I told you that you had won. Because you have. But I was also telling you the truth when I told you I was on the end of my rope with the whole thing. _

'_I can tell that you're not happy, because the relationship we have probably isn't the way you imagined it. And I know that I could probably do a lot better. I know that fox couples are a lot more affectionate than most. I remember Miyu and her mate well enough. They're a truly, very happy couple. And I don't think it's fair that you have to be stuck in one that isn't. _

'_So I'm leaving, not to be with someone else (which I'm sure you're thinking is Yomi), but to think. I can't be with you now, and I'm not sure if I ever can be with you at all. So I hope that going away to think things through, without the collar reminding me of everything, that I'll be able to figure it out. _

'_I don't know how long it will take. Maybe it will be years or only a few days, but I don't expect you to wait for me. If you find someone else you're happy with, go ahead. I don't want you waiting for something that might never come back. _

'_I know what it's like to wait, Shuichi. I waited for that damn collar to fall off, I waited for Youko to let me go, I waited to find out what my fate was. Waiting is awful, and I really wouldn't wish that upon anyone else, even though I am a demon. _

'_And I swear, if you follow me or do anything vaguely related to that, I will kick your ass and hate you forever. _

'_I'll come to you, when I'm ready._

'_Rika'_

* * *

**The End**

_**Yeah, the end. **There might be a short epilogue thing, but this is it. Done. **I HAVE LEFT YOU ALL HANGING OVER A CLIFF WITH NO HOPE FOR SALVATION. **Or another sequel. Now you know why I was cackling. Because I have soul and no consideration for the feelings of my readers. Har har har. Either way, I hope you enjoyed the sequel, even if I didn't write it to make any of you happy at all. _

_I don't have any ideas for stories after this one, so I might fade away for awhile. Still, I had fun._


End file.
